His Father's Clutches
by DeviWan
Summary: Kakashi couldn't explain his attraction towards his neighbour, or explain how people were dying all around the Uchihas, or how they could disapear in thin air and know he was a secret agent. Kakashi/Itachi slash fiction. AU.
1. Chapter 1

Title: His Father's Clutches

Pairing: Kakashi/Itachi

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Warning: yaoi, shounen-ai and supernatural themes. This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story. So no ninja…

**His Father's Clutches**

When Kakashi was first assigned to this little town because traces of Orochimaru had unexpectedly shown up, he was sure he'd be in yet another pointless mission. Orochimaru was sly and conniving and so, so difficult to locate, let alone capture. He was not the type of international criminal to pay a mind to little towns like Konoha, and Kakashi couldn't really blame him. Konoha was small and in the middle of a forest… a forest that was in the middle of nowhere. It was a two hour drive to the nearest town and four hour drive to the nearest city. Nothing was interesting about it either. The people were all nice and normal and definitely didn't look like they'd have anything to do with Orochimaru or his sudden reappearance on their radar. There was nothing interesting about the place; every day was the exact same routine. The only thing that really caught Kakashi's interest had been the town folklores, but even then, he'd only been entertained for a couple of days.

He spent most of the first four weeks looking in every corner of the town, for any traces of Orochimaru. He didn't find anything, not that he really expected to. The other times that the organisation had even spotted the wanted man, it'd been in cities much bigger than Konoha, or in mountains that contained minerals only the snake-like man could comprehend. Konoha had nothing, nothing at all and Kakashi wondered if they've been fed lies by a double in the agency. He tried everything. He tried to narrow down the town's population to the faces that _could_ have been in contact with Orochimaru, but that was a fruitless effort. The people here were All. So. Nice. It was as if words like 'lies,' 'pain,' and 'corruption,' didn't exist. The only word the one-eyed man could use for the town was '_nice_.' Everything was nice, everyone was nice. It was almost sickening.

In Konoha, Kakashi felt like the dirtiest criminal on the planet. He felt even worse when he walked around reading porn in public and the people only shot him confused looks. Dirty glares, unbelieving ones he was used to, but confused ones he was not. It was as if he was slowly tainting the heaven-like town just by walking the streets.

After two and a half months of feeling like the most corrupted man on Earth, he was just about to make a call to his boss, Tsunade, and demand to go back to headquarters so he could do more productive assignments, when he finally turned his eyes to his neighbour. He was standing next to the window in his new temporary home bought just for this mission, eyeing the phone blaringly, when a car pulled into the driveway of his neighbour's house. The car was nothing interesting, just average, but he memorised the number plate anyway. He watched as the driver got out, graceful and tall and stern looking, which was a strange contrast to everyone else in the town. He looked to be in his forties and was pale, made even paler by the dark colour of his eyes and near shoulder length hair, and there were lines on either side of his mouth, result of years of frowning and scowling.

Another man stepped out from the back seat, and Kakashi found it amusing that he was a younger version of the driver. He was just as pale and just as tall and only the lack of age-lines made Kakashi aware that they're two different people. The younger man even wore the same frown, and Kakashi's lips quirked up in amusement. The only true difference was the obvious age gap –he looked to be in his mid-teens- and the hair. This guy's was short and spikey at the back, tinged with blue, and a quiet snicker escaped Kakashi's masked lips. The secret agent couldn't even help the image of a chicken's ass in his head. But then… in the next moment, halting and sudden, the smile on his lips vanished and shivering flutters raced along his skin.

And when he's a hundred years old and asked to name one instant in his life that he'd remember and take to his grave, that moment would be it.

Kakashi wasn't a hundred yet, and he doubted he'd live to be anywhere near it in his line of work, but he didn't think he was going to forget that moment… that moment when the third man stepped out of the dark grey car. He wasn't as tall as the other two, though still tall, and his features were less sharp, but his expression was just as blank, chin held just as high and posture just as royalty-like. Kakashi was suddenly thankful that he was still inside his house and no one was around to see his imitation of a fish. He was breathless, chest heaving in and out but his lungs remained desperate. It was like a punch to his chest, only without the pain and he was still reeling from it as he watched the first man open the front door, and the second one, the teenager, walked around to be beside the last.

The two youngest ones started walking, and only then did Kakashi finally notice how utterly pale the last man was. He wasn't pale like the other two. He was _pale_, with blue tinted lips and dark, dark hair and he looked like he'd just been defrosted. It was winter, Kakashi knew, but it wasn't so cold as to leave a man's lips blue, so he really had to wonder where the abnormally beautiful man had been.

"Hmm," he hummed to himself, refusing to scratch at his covered chin because that'd just be too cliché.

He studied the resemblance of all three and concluded that the oldest was the father, and the last two were brothers. He tried to study all of them in detail, really he tried, but his attention came back to the last man, the one with long dark hair and a pretty, pretty face. He was wearing a long, dark trench coat, they all were actually, and only the skin on his face and hands were exposed… and such pretty things they were. Again, Kakashi didn't think he was wearing the heavy looking coat because it was cold. It wasn't _that_ cold, not at all.

He shifted and got into a better position to look at the man. He was younger than Kakashi, by about ten years, but he couldn't be too sure. He looked to be about twenty, maybe younger… but twenty's the appropriate guess. He looked a little sad too, and if Kakashi were any less of an agent, he would have missed it. In fact, he looked at the youngest one as well; they both looked sad, miserable, though they both were great at not showing it. The father though, the father was the interesting one. He didn't look at his sons like he was looking at his children. The father eyed the younger one like someone would eye an annoying neighbour that wouldn't disappear and the older son like his very first big catch after going fishing. It wasn't a good sight to see and Kakashi felt bad for the two young men.

The three look-alikes disappeared into their home, the door slamming shut, and Kakashi was left feeling like he'd been standing there for a thousand years.

He took a moment, and he'd never out loud admit it, to take deep breaths and clutch at his chest. It didn't feel like it'd exactly returned to him; he was still breathless, dazed and on cloud nine. Once he was right in the head again, he picked up his discarded book and went up to his office, where he missed dinner by reading through every detail of his neighbours his contact sent him. The Uchihas, father and sons they were. Kakashi even admitted to himself that he really only read about one, Uchiha Itachi. The others he only skimmed through. Uchiha Fugake was the father, forty-four, and was the chief of police at the local station. His wife died giving birth to his youngest son. There were more, of course, but Kakashi had already forgotten what he read once he started reading about the oldest son.

Uchiha Itachi. Kakashi took a moment to digest it, because who named their child '_weasel_?' It wasn't funny though, he didn't think it was funny because the man himself was the epitome of beauty… so no, it was not funny. It even suited him, in a way. Itachi was small, as well as slender and graceful. Kakashi also found out that Itachi was only twenty-one, and he immediately felt that churning in his stomach -something like guilt and shame- for being so passionately attracted to someone so much younger than himself. It was a little secret that only he knew, though, so he had no trouble washing away the guilt and shame with alcohol. He read on through the report Tenzo –well, it's Yamato now- sent him. Itachi was a straight A's student and graduated high school with the highest testing score, that was three years ago, but he hadn't applied for college. He's currently unemployed, just staying home.

Kakashi took another long moment to digest this. At this point he already knew something wasn't right. Instinct, he supposed. Uchiha Itachi didn't appear like someone to sit home all day long without a job, not at all.

He wondered why he hadn't bothered to check up on his neighbours… in fact, that should have been the very first thing he did on this undercover mission of his. The thought never even crossed his mind; he literally drew up a blank. He'd never even paid a mind to the Uchihas, not even a glance, and this disturbed him. He was among the best of the bests in the agency; a little slip like this had him wondering… was he diving headfirst into early senility?

Chuckling at his less than reasonable train of thoughts –and this could be because he'd already had three bottles of beer- he read the report regarding the youngest Uchiha. Sasuke; fifteen years old, still in high school… hates his father with a passion? Kakashi blinked, put down his bottle of sweet heaven and leaned in closer to the screen. The words struck out at him, clearly saying that when he was younger his school counsellor had sent him to a professional psychiatrist when the boy had no qualm about letting people know that he hated his own father. Kakashi read that particular report again, and again, before sitting back and chuckling to himself. Somehow he liked the boy already.

When he's read everything about the family, and gone back again to read more about Itachi, he spent the rest of the night trying to get the Uchiha family out of his head by going through all the reported sightings of Orochimaru. He succeeded. Four days later another report showed up, Orochimaru was in the area, and the Uchihas were nothing more than an insignificant, distant piece of memory.

**…*…**

He was at a lost for a little while, looking in the wrong places, studying the wrong people, when finally –_finally_- light was shed into this undercover mission of his. He thought he was going nowhere, and Orochimaru had already moved on to some other place, but then the boy next door sneaked out in the middle of daylight and Kakashi once again berated himself for not paying enough attention to his neighbours, who clearly were not what they seemed to be. He slapped himself on the forehead for that; it was a rookie mistake. He thought maybe he should lay off the alcohol and actually try to do the mission. Maybe this was where he could put an end to Orochimaru and his evil experiments.

It was Monday when the boy, Sasuke, made his move. It was a students' free day, to celebrate the town's founding some few hundred years ago. There wasn't a car in their driveway, so Kakashi only assumed Uchiha Fugaku's gone to work. He was the chief of police; Kakashi didn't think he got too many days off, though he didn't really see why not. The town had no crimes; most of the people here probably didn't even know the true meaning of the word. And he wondered, grimly, what the chief would think if he found out that his youngest son sneaked out without his permission. He looked up to where he knew Uchiha Itachi's room was –this was found out by pure research, nothing more- and saw the blinds shut; sleeping, most likely. Sasuke took off, and he was fast, and Kakashi followed.

The boy's wearing a dark jacket one size too big for him. The hood's up, and if he hadn't witnessed the boy leaving home then he wouldn't know it was Sasuke at all. Kakashi silently, expertly trailed the boy. Sasuke went around the town, away from its people and the celebration, and into the thinnest part of the forest. He stopped at a pond in there, rested for a few short hours til it was midday, and started again, heading into the thickest part of the forest. It wasn't until a little bit later that Kakashi realised Sasuke stopped to throw off his scent. In that little rest break, the wind changed direction at least thirteen times.

Kakashi sped up. Sasuke obviously knew what he was doing.

Eventually, when the sun was at its peak, the boy led him to the mouth of a cave. It was so… not what Kakashi expected. A cave; so obvious and typical. Sasuke didn't go into the cave though, just stood there, arms crossed over his chest and face set in a scowl, waiting, and Kakashi found himself having to find a spot to hide and still be able to observe whatever's going to happen. He ended up circling the impatient boy –the unconscious tapping of his foot- and the mouth of the cave to stand beside it, off the side hidden by thick, high bushes. He pulled his mask up higher on his face and unrolled the bandana he used to cover his bad eye to use it to cover his hair. He had no doubt that his shiny, silver hair would give his position away. Sasuke didn't seem like a careless kid; already his eyes were scanning the forest, careful and not missing one thing. It's years and years of being good at his job that saved Kakashi from the boy's eyes.

He froze.

An hour and a half later Orochimaru appeared.

The sudden appearance crushed down on him, and it was his locked muscles that kept him from falling flat on his face. When he'd set out trailing Sasuke, he thought the boy might be hanging with the wrong crowd, or doing something that his daddy wouldn't be too happy with. He didn't think the boy was the reason for Orochimaru appearing up on his radar again.

Orochimaru hadn't aged one bit, even though the last time Kakashi saw him was thirteen years ago. He was aware that the dark haired, snake-like man had been working on immortality, only he didn't think the man was anywhere near it. It wasn't a possibility; everyone was meant to die at some point. He thought that Orochimaru must have been insane or just plain bored to be working on something like this. And yet, the man stood in front of his eyes, looking no older than thirty despite being near sixty. Even Tsunade, his boss, was starting to look her age.

He forced down the bile rising in his throat. He'd been chasing Orochimaru for a long time, had read the report of the bodies found after his experiments. What he'd left behind on those tested bodies were out of this world, evil, and he had to wonder what the mad evil scientist did to himself to remain in a frozen state. As he watched, too far away to hear a word they're saying, he observed the situation from every angle, without jumping to a conclusion. The first thing that came to mind, the very first, was that if Orochimaru had succeeded and was therefore immortal, then he wouldn't be here, wouldn't still be looking for something that Kakashi knew didn't exist. Because he had no doubt that Orochimaru was indeed looking for something. Whatever the man was not looking for, he's already gotten.

Orochimaru stood with his back to Kakashi, and the secret agent willed him to shift so he could observe him better. He didn't turn, though, but Sasuke did. The boy pulled on the left side of his too large T-shirt's collar, tugged it down for Orochimaru to see. Kakashi's first reaction was to wince and the thought that ran through his head was that Orochimaru was sicker than he imagined. But then Sasuke shifted again, and from this distance Kakashi thought he saw a bruise or something dark on the boy's neck, low where it met his shoulder. It must've been pretty bad, for Kakashi to see it all the way from his hiding spot.

"Stop staring!" Sasuke suddenly snapped, loud and impatient. "You've seen it many times, now tell me what…" And he trailed off as his voice became lower, too low for Kakashi to hear.

They talked and talked for hours. Orochimaru seemed so hopeful, like a kid on Christmas, while Sasuke seemed desperate, suddenly too old for his body.

Too many questions ran through his head, and Kakashi was shocked that even now, while spying on something important as this, Itachi was still lingering somewhere in his mind. He couldn't forget, not completely. He didn't think he could ever forget, not those big, sad eyes and not those pretty little lips.

Something happened, a flash of movement, and Kakashi was brought out of his wandering thoughts. He'll need to watch carefully, remember everything so that he'd be able to report it back to headquarters. Over Orochimaru's shoulders Kakashi saw him bring out a notebook. He drew on it, careful and analysing. So it wasn't a bruise, whatever was on Sasuke's shoulder. Kakashi watched the dark haired man tuck the note into his coat pocket and turn to leave. Sasuke remained where he stood; an impatient crease in between his brows and Kakashi frowned too. He knew a deal when he saw one. Sasuke wanted something, wanted it bad enough to deal with Orochimaru. Or… it could be that the boy didn't know what he was getting into, in which Kakashi knew he had to watch out for the boy.

He's been in similar situations before, and protocol would normally have him silently trailing behind the boy. Protocol would have him keeping in the shadow until further notice, but when Hatake Kakashi found himself slipping from the shadow and stalking towards Sasuke, he knew his attraction for a certain Uchiha Itachi had gone terribly wrong. He's been attracted to people before, almost in love at one point, but he's never gone to the point of letting it cloud his judgment. Being attracted to someone had never made him abandon years of drills and blindly following his instincts before.

As he got closer to Sasuke –the boy didn't even look surprised- he knew he had to fix it. It's blind, unreasonable feelings like these that would eventually get him killed. There's a tiny bit in him that wanted to blame Itachi for this, wanted to blame him for being so beautiful and mysterious and out of reach, but he knew more than anything that it wasn't the man's fault. They've never even spoken. Kakashi knew… this was all him.

He unrolled his bandana from over his head and adjusted it. He hoped to god he appeared casual. "Fancy meeting you here, neighbour," he said, his voice a low drawl. He leaned against the flattest face of the cave wall, like he would at a street corner or something. "What are you doing here?"

"None of your business," the boy snapped. He turned away from Kakashi and stormed away. Kakashi let a few seconds come between them, and then he followed. "Quit following me."

"I'm not. I'm just heading home. So, why aren't you out celebrating the town's founding?" He wanted the boy to turn around so he could use his one-eyed smile on him, but he doubted that it would work. Sasuke seemed like a brick wall; Kakashi didn't want to be fake-smiling at a brick wall. Not that he was saying he wasn't a brick wall himself…

Sasuke clicked his tongue, a mocking sound if Kakashi ever heard one, and mumbled something under his breath. He sped up, and so did Kakashi.

"Who was that gentleman just then?" He asked. He stuffed his hands in his pant pockets just before Sasuke turned around to glare at him. Kakashi stopped mid-step. He expected annoyance, irritation, even hate; because he knew what teenage boys were like… especially when they wanted to hide something badly. He saw all that, and more. There was a threat in his eyes, one that said he was willing to kill if he had to. Sasuke wasn't scared of him, Sasuke looked about ready to kill, and Kakashi knew something was horribly, horribly wrong here. He ran ahead and made the boy stop lest he walked right into Kakashi. "Should I do the right thing as a good neighbour and tell your dad that you're secretly meeting with a criminal?"

Still the boy didn't look scared. "You can try. I'm warning you though; you have no idea what you're messing with."

Thank god, Kakashi thought, that he's taller than Sasuke. He stood up straight, to tower over the boy. "No, you're the one who doesn't know what you're messing with. You have any idea what that man does? Do you know what's going to happen to you once he's through? I'm telling you now, back off." Kakashi wasn't even surprised that Sasuke didn't seem to be intimidated by him. He was starting to think that nothing scared the boy.

Sasuke growled –_growled!_ - And stepped forward. "I. Know." And then Kakashi blinked and Sasuke faded –he saw the ground and trees behind the boy! He blinked again and Sasuke was gone. He was gone. He was alone.

**…*…**

"You're either very brave or very stupid for reporting this to me. You realise what I have to do once my agents report back to me about people disappearing in thin air?" Tsunade leaned back into her giant chair, her amber eyes still bearing down on Kakashi through the computer screen. It didn't seem to bother her that she might have to send one of her bests for some psychological help. It wasn't every day that Kakashi reported such things like 'people disappearing in thin air.' "And you're positive that it was Orochimaru you saw? He's still lingering around Konoha?"

"Yes, he is," Kakashi grinded his teeth together. Good thing for the mask. He didn't need his boss to see him getting impatient with her… her and her round-in-a-circle questions. "Tsunade, with all due respect, can you please get over it? I'd really like to know what I can do about the boy. He's in over his head."

Kakashi spotted a pulsing at the blond woman's temple, and was suddenly glad he wasn't in the same room with her. He'd have been knocked out cold by now. Obviously she didn't heed the 'with all due respect' part. She sighed eventually and rubbed at her temples. "Yeah, yeah, ok. So you really can't find out why Uchiha Sasuke would go to Orochimaru? Usually he'd just kidnap them if he wanted to experiment on them." There was a pause, before she stated the obvious. "We're really lacking information, and we can't do anything until you find out more."

The screen in front of Kakashi flickered and faded to his desktop wallpaper, a blank, light grey screen with a heart in the middle and texts inside that said 'Make another heart throb, give blood.' Even now he still didn't understand why he chose this as his wallpaper. He always meant to donate blood, but never got the chance.

Rubbing a tired hand over his masked face, he sighed and leaned back in his seat. With the exception of the humming of the heater in his house, everything else was dead silent. He was alone, always alone and he was so tired of it that he couldn't even bring himself to care anymore. It just got sickening sometimes, that's all. He sat and stared blankly at the wall behind his laptop screen for a long time before heaving himself up, gathering all reports concerning Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke, and migrating to his ever supportive couch. Just as well, because in the living room he was just one room closer to the Uchihas' house. He could see their driveway and front porch and rubbish bin. Currently the driveway was empty, but daylight was fading and the father would be home soon. Earlier today he'd seen Sasuke come home from school, and the boy didn't even pretend to not notice him. He actually stopped and stood to glare at Kakashi for a whole three minutes. That had been the highlight of his uneventful day, and as a reward, he'd smiled and waved to the boy.

Sasuke looked pissed at his smile and wave, and Kakashi didn't understand why. His smiles were awfully friendly.

"Kids these days," he mumbled to himself, leafing through the more recent reports of Orochimaru's men. "Taking drugs and worshipping vampires just isn't enough… had to go and make deals with an old man bent on immortality." He thought over his absentminded words, and frowned. He'd revealed himself to Sasuke, let the kid know that he was on to him, and that was definitely a mistake. No doubt Sasuke would be more careful now, more aware of his surroundings. He stepped out in that clearing to Sasuke without a thought, he'd made a mistake. What had he done it for again? Itachi, a stranger living next door who didn't even know Kakashi existed. He'd done it for Itachi. In the end it proved fruitless. He still hadn't even spoken a word to him.

There was a rattling sound, of plastic and glass, and he poked his head out of his window. Speak of the devil and he shall appear… putting a bag of garbage in his rubbish bin. For a moment Kakashi blankly stared, because what were the chances? It was almost too good to be true, but Kakashi wasn't a glass half empty, so he put on his best smile –not that it'd be visible- and waved his arm. He didn't say anything though, because he didn't want to come off desperate… even though he was. It'd been much too long since he's been on a decent date. Uchiha Itachi, and what a pretty little thing he was, didn't notice him at first, but Kakashi liked to think he had the kind of power that made people feel his stare. He liked to think it made people uncomfortable when he wanted them to. And so, after putting the lid back on his rubbish bin, Itachi looked around, because at this point he must have felt Kakashi's stare.

And it was all part of Kakashi's plan that he looked right at him and met his smiling eye and waving hand. He still didn't say anything, just waved and smiled a smile all too cheery. It may have made him look like a stalker, a creepy new neighbour, but it was all too worth it when he could observe the Uchiha's range of expressions. First there was the blankness as the situation sunk in, and then the surprise, some blinking, and then a slight redness across his nose and cheeks; all that in a blink of an eye. It took Kakashi one second longer to realise that Itachi's face hadn't changed at all, his lone expression was still like a brick wall, and all he saw had been in the younger man's eyes. Oh. Oh, no.

He looked properly again, though. He looked at the expressions, or lack thereof, and decided that the most he'd get from someone like Itachi would be from within his eyes. Just as well, because the Uchiha's eyes cleared out, like a tide suddenly receding and he turned and walked back into his house. Kakashi wasn't offended, not at all. He wasn't. He stood leaning on his window for a while longer, most certainly aware of the youngest Uchiha glaring bloody daggers at him. And when he finally stepped back from the window, he decided that the boy had serious problems. Luckily it was in his unwritten moral rulebook to help any and all teens with serious problems, such as acquainting with criminals and having a major brother complex.

He went back to work, hunched over his laptop, and didn't think too much on the Uchihas for the rest of the day…

**…*…**

When he checked his work email one morning and received a list of murder victims, he was almost certain Yamato had sent it to the wrong address. He was already on a case, albeit a slow-moving case and he didn't need another one. He looked through the list anyway, because Icha Icha Paradise could only keep him entertained for so long. It didn't take him long to find patterns, and when he thought about sending it back to Yamato, he found another pattern. The first pattern was that all victims were found in the vicinity of Konoha, and the second pattern was that all bodies were drained when found. Just when he thought about handing this case to Kurenai, because she was good with the vampire-like cases, he realised it was a slit to the throat that killed the victims, not bite wounds.

He looked through the files again and again, trying to link them to Orochimaru. But the criminal had stopped with the blood-letting years ago; he's moved on to a more creative trend… like injecting the weirdest things into his bloodstream just to live a little longer. He couldn't, though… couldn't connect the dots. Orochimaru's techniques didn't go like this. He's usually unpredictable – which makes him predictable like that. Sometimes he left traces of him just to stir the organisation; sometimes he'd be long gone before they caught up with him. This new killer was prideful. He or she left the body wherever, because it seemed like they couldn't care any less if they were caught or not… just wanted the killing done.

In the end, despite swearing to himself that he'd lay off the alcohol for a little while longer, he took a bottle and headed out the backyard. He didn't care that he'd probably feel Sasuke's glare at the back of his head the whole time he's out there. Just as well, because the boy was waiting for him when he got there.

Kakashi was great with kids, if he was being honest… and modest, but he was not great with teenagers. They were unpredictable and so, so creative. He'd never know when they were pulling his legs. And so, just because he wanted to be on the boy's good side, he said "Want beer?"

From over the fence separating their backyards, Sasuke glared. Kakashi wondered if he was going to disappear in thin air again. Hatake Kakashi was an open-minded man; was completely open to things that didn't truly belong. Sasuke didn't disappear though.

"You haven't told my father yet," he said.

What kids these days call their father 'father' anymore?

"No, no," he waved a hand carelessly. "I'm sure you have good reasons for acquainting with a criminal."

"I do."

"Oh… Well, I thought so." There was a pause and Kakashi desperately wanted to take a sip from his bottle. He won't though; it's quite uncomfortable drinking through a mask. "You know he's a criminal, right?" The boy nodded. "You also know whatever he promised you he won't deliver, right?" There's hesitation in those abyss-like eyes. "I'm really trying to help, Sasuke. Whatever he's offering, you're not going to get it. He's gonna take whatever he wants, and then you're a goner. What does he want with you anyway?"

The boy smirked; just barely a tilt at the corner of his thin lips. Kakashi never truly noticed how much he looked like his brother… until he didn't anymore. With that cold, lifeless smirk he looked too much like father. "You're the one who's been following this man, agent, shouldn't you know?"

Kakashi knew his shock didn't show on his face, it usually never did. "Oh, we have nicknames for each other now? That's cute. You can call me agent if you want, and I think I'll call you broody."

If he wasn't so experienced in reading people, Kakashi would never see the change in Sasuke's eyes. They hardened, and he was reminded of their encounter in the forest, when Kakashi was so sure that Sasuke would kill him if he really got in his way. "Whatever," he said. "What I'm doing isn't hurting anybody. And if you're really the good guy, then you'd let me do this." He uncrossed his arms and turned around, ready to head back inside. "Stay out of my way, Hatake Kakashi. This is something bigger than you."

He stood alone, with a bottle of beer no longer cold in his hand. Sasuke said it 'this is something bigger than you' and slowly but surely, it was starting to sink in.

He must have been so deep in his thoughts, because when Itachi spoke to him, the bottle in his hand slipped. "He's very determined. I'd stay out of his way if I were you. Let him realise on his own that it's useless."

Up close, Kakashi saw just how pale Itachi was. Before speaking and most likely making a fool out of himself, Kakashi observed Itachi's features. He was a creature of black and white, was what he realised first. There was no shade in between; Black hair, white skin, black eyes. His eyes revealed nothing, but they were cold and almost arrogant. The sadness he saw when he first laid eyes on Itachi was no longer there, and this pretty man that stood before Kakashi was the type that he hated the most. The only imperfection was the lines under his eyes that made him look constantly tired, and that only served to make him that much more appealing. Still, there was no denying the heat that stirred in his lower region, nor the urge to just at least mar the clear expanse of pale skin.

"That's nice of you, to have so little faith in your brother."

Ridiculously long, dark lashes fluttered as Itachi observed the older looking man from across the fence. "It's not a matter of lack of faith," he said. "He's wasting his time, and he knows this. Still, he persists. I'm merely asking you to let him be." Dark eyes glanced at Kakashi up and down, and he almost wished that there was at least a trace of attraction there. "You're just a secret agent pretending to be our new neighbour; I think you have your eyes set on the wrong case."

"Oh, so there's a case here?" Kakashi stepped closer and lean on the fence, smiling with his eye. If Itachi was going to teleport in mid-air like his brother, then he'd at least like a closer look at it. Though, really, why would Itachi teleport when his house was just a few steps away? "I think so too," he said cheerily. "After all, it's not every day that I see someone disappear in mid-air. He should enter the next school talent show; I bet that's something they've never seen before."

There it was again!

That flash of pity in those eyes; Sasuke had the same look when he realised Kakashi wouldn't leave him alone. And he hated it. He hated that anyone had to look at him like that. He didn't need pity. He's probably stumbled his way into something too large to ignore, too much for him, but he wasn't helpless.

"You are in over your head, agent. This will be the only warning I'm giving you. If you become too much of a pest, I'm telling you now that it won't be me or my brother you have to fear."

Even if he had been expecting it, Kakashi was still taken aback when Itachi faded and swirled out of existence, as if the wind just carried him off.

It was almost night time by the time he stumbled his way to his laptop. Immediately he contacted Tsunade. He gave her the full report, asked that she try to shed some light onto this out worldly situation. He told her that the Uchiha brothers had called him 'agent' and repeated to her that they had disappeared in mid-air once more.

He went to bed, but only managed to fall asleep after he stuck his hand under his boxers and palmed himself, pleasured to thoughts of the older of the Uchiha siblings. '_Tomorrow_,' he thought, '_tomorrow I'll start researching_.'

**…*…**

The advantage of not having a job or school to go to, Itachi mused, was that he could do anything and people wouldn't care. Of course, that could also be due to the spell his father placed over the whole town hundreds of years ago. This morning he walked into a footwear store and set the fire alarm on. The people there had calmly and orderly walked out of the store, because Konoha was the type of town that rehearsed drills monthly. They rehearsed fire drills, earth quake drills, flood evacuations –why, Itachi had no idea. Konoha was hundreds of miles away from the coast and nestled snuggly in between unmovable mountains. Still, when he set the fire alarm on, there was barely enough reaction to entertain him.

When the people realised there had been no danger, they smiled and hugged each other, and said it was a false alarm and all was forgiven, never mind that most of them saw him eyeing the alarm at one point or another.

He walked away, slightly disappointed. He didn't do it every day, didn't cause the highlights of the town on a daily basis. When he did, though, he at least expected to be… stirred, entertained, amused… whatever. Perhaps the town's indifference of the Uchiha family's existence due to his father's spell has turned into a total blind eye after all, to the point where they were no longer affected by them.

He walked by and saw the front page of the newspaper. Murder; that was weeks ago, and in a few more there'd be another one, at a different location that's just coincidentally the closest city to Konoha, drained of blood as well. Still, it was on the newspaper, and his father would be displeased. He'd best go to the library, get on a computer and see what rumour surrounded it that he could use to cover the truth up. Just as well, because in the corner of the big, hushed library his keen eyes spotted the tall mop of silver hair. There was a tremor of delight in his body, like last night when he talked to the agent, and Itachi was more than eager to indulge.

His father would disapprove; but Itachi had been a good, loyal son. It was about time he got a little reward.

Gliding over, he saw the larger man hunched over a book, ancient and fragile.

"You can't sneak up on a secret agent, Itachi," he mumbled. "Whatever you are, you're not that good."

Itachi's upper lip trembled, slowly easing into a tiny smile. "I wasn't sneaking up on you," he said. "I have no reason to."

"Right." Kakashi's reply was quiet, and almost miserable-sounding. It almost made him wonder what sad little novel the younger man was reading. "Come sit with me, Itachi. I want you to tell me what happened here," he pointed to a page in the thick book.

"The ninth mayor of this town was elected," Itachi replied. He pointed to the top of the brown, crumbling page. The texts were barely readable, and the small image was hand drawn. "It says so right here." Kakashi didn't smile with his eye, like he did last night, and Itachi just knew he was getting somewhere. There's a thrill in his stomach, hot and excited.

Kakashi turned the page, "What about here?" He didn't give Itachi time to reply, before he turned the page, "And here," and another page, "And here," and another page again. "Or maybe your brother can tell me what happened here," he pointed to another page. From over the man's shoulder, Itachi saw Sasuke's face on the page, on the edge of the crowd gathered to observe the circus that rolled into town. He was dressed differently, as appropriate to the time period, no doubt, but his face was still sullen and brooding. There was a hat on his head, but it didn't completely cover the spikes at the back.

"Ah," Itachi breathed. "Sasuke wanted to join the circus when he was younger."

"Right," Kakashi mumbled, and he still refused to look at Itachi. Itachi decided that the man was still reeling from reality. He could only imagine what must be going on in that silver head of his. Did he suspect Itachi and his family to be vampires? Like most people these days would? "Or maybe your dad could tell me about the sixth mayor? They look awfully alike, almost identical."

"They do," if the statement came off insincere, then so be it. Itachi was only indulging him, there was no threat. They could get rid of Hatake Kakashi easily, should the need arise. If Kakashi was suddenly going to sprout nonsense about immortal beings, nobody here would pay him a mind. As far as the people of Konoha were concerned, The Uchiha family were part of the town's history. They learned to ignore and move on. If asked if they knew an Uchiha, most of them would scratch their head and said the name sounded familiar… but that would be it. The spell prevented people from paying actual attention to them. Why it didn't seem to work on one Hatake Kakashi, Itachi didn't know.

"This is the most interesting one, I think," Kakashi said. He turned a couple of pages, going forward instead of backwards in time. "A young man, still learning about medicine, saved the eighth mayor's life when he broke his leg and fell ill." It was too early for photographs back then, Itachi remembered. He also recalled sitting for hours beside the newly recovered mayor just so that they could draw him in the book. Later that night, Sasuke was punished for Itachi's actions. It was law in their household: don't gain attention, don't matter. "Pretty little thing, wasn't he?"

Itachi found it almost amusing, that that man made no attempt to hide his attraction towards him. "I don't think this town's historical events are that interesting. There are many more books you can read here. Shall I introduce you to the adults' novels shelf?"

"No, thank you. I'd like to invite you back to my house for a cup of tea though, would that be ok?" He stood up, at the same time slamming the book shut. "Or, is a cup of blood better suited for your diet?" There's something cold and hard pointing at his side, suddenly, and Itachi felt a small smile bloom on his face. It's been so long. There's a gun pointed at his body, and still he'd like to indulge the younger, but bigger man. Some amusement was long overdue…

"Tea would be just fine, thank you. Blood is… overrated." He looked down at the gun; it was tiny and no doubt efficient, but it also wouldn't kill him. It would hurt him, but he'd heal within hours. "You can put that away now. Your house is right next to mine, at one point or another I'll have to go home."

"Good point," Kakashi mumbled, and all of a sudden Itachi's aware of how close they're standing. He could feel the heat from the silver-haired man's body, and it's very inviting. The point of the little gun disappeared from his side. "All right, come on."

"Shouldn't you put the book back where you got it from?"

"Nope, I'll leave it there… see if anyone else puts the pieces together and realise they have vampires for neighbours."

The need to inform the younger man that he and his family were, in fact, not vampires was just at the tip of his tongue. Instead Itachi smiled. "Unlikely," he muttered. There was a spell and it worked perfectly fine. Nobody would pay them any attention to them; that's the way it's been for hundreds of years now… Hatake Kakashi was just special, though Itachi's yet to figure out in what way. He would, though; he'd solve this mystery that was Hatake Kakashi and get rid of him. "You're just very special."

"I completely agree."

**…*…**

It wasn't after Itachi walked _out_ of his house and next door to his own home that Kakashi felt like he was finally, _finally_ awake. He hadn't discovered anything new, because all they did was drink and talk and flirt in that weird, intense way of theirs, but he'd been in a haze. And Kakashi didn't even realise he was in a haze until Itachi went away, and he could suddenly remember his own name again. At that point it had been too late to call for the younger man.

He took hours after that to contemplate whether he should call Tsunade and tell her of his founding or not. In the end he opted not to, because he didn't have enough evidence for this crazy situation yet, and it would also make him sound extremely insane.

When he sat alone that night at his dinner table, Kakashi laughed to himself. "Vampires," he scoffed. It was ridiculous, even as he said it. He knew for a fact that Itachi was not a vampire, despite his ethereal beauty and enticing scent and inviting-everything-else. He'd checked in his own way. Itachi's body temperature was normal –a brush of the hands confirmed that, and he didn't turn into several bats… just disintegrated into thin air was all. "Damn it," he muttered, once the hysteria of it all left him. "What the hell?"

He was stuck in a weird, too-perfect-in-every-way town, caught in something way bigger than himself, with a house next door full of creatures he didn't have a name for, and he was sure one of them just enchanted him. Enchantment… that was the only way to explain how he felt for Itachi, it definitely wasn't love, because it wasn't real enough, but it wasn't just lust either, because when he went to sleep, his body natural curled around something –someone- who was not there, something lost and beloved, just found. It was a wonder, how he'd get himself out of this one.

* * *

><p>This has not been beta-read. I'm on holiday atm; I'll improve when I get another internet access.<p>

In the mean time, please review! Tell me what you guys think. Like it or not?


	2. Chapter 2

Title: His Father's Clutches

Pairing: Kakashi/Itachi

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Warning: Yaoi, shounen-ai and supernatural themes. This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story. So no ninja…

**His Father's Clutches**

Kakashi didn't know how it was, but Itachi and Sasuke's father remained oblivious to him, still. The man didn't even acknowledge that he had a new neighbour. Even though Kakashi barely exists to the older man, he found a lot about him through both Itachi and Sasuke.

Sasuke still didn't like him much, if not at all, but he's like a shadow of his brother. So it wasn't really surprising that Sasuke started coming around a week after Itachi did. Kakashi didn't really mind, seeing as that Sasuke was really the one he was meant to keep an eye on. The boy was quiet and a bit rude at times, but he was smart and mature. So Kakashi wondered how a boy like him could possibly get involved with someone like Orochimaru. And _then_ he remembered that Sasuke was older than him, much, _much_ older. None of their conversations have steered anywhere near immortality yet, but it was there; the elephant in the room.

Sasuke loved his brother so much that Kakashi might even feel jealous, but he hated his father with a passion. At first Kakashi thought it was just something a teenager would feel, but Sasuke wasn't a teenager, hadn't been for hundreds of years now, and his hatred was really _hatred_, not dislike, not rebellion, but pure, undying hate. Kakashi felt nervous just thinking about the father and son living under the same roof, next door. It's a wonder they haven't killed each other yet.

He reported this to Tsunade. He had to, because he felt that if he was really alone in his, he'd go insane. Konoha was not the town he thought it was when he first arrived.

When things got too much, like when the pressure of capturing Orochimaru and saving Sasuke _from_ Orochimaru got too much, he found Itachi… or more like Itachi found him.

Itachi, who was always smooth and superior, always seemed to know when he needed company the most. His timings were uncanny, and Kakashi hasn't needed a single beer since officially meeting Itachi. He liked talking to Itachi too, and was so glad that his attraction wasn't just for the looks. It was fun to be around Itachi, because it was fun to try and make him smile. Kakashi would like nothing more in life than to spend the rest of it making Itachi smile. He was stiff and always controlled, and Kakashi found himself just wanting to kiss him breathless. See how he liked _that_.

It's been weeks since Kakashi first invited Itachi home, and somehow it felt like he just gave permission for a vampire to enter his domain. Itachi wasn't a vampire though. Itachi dropped by often after that, and he found he anticipated every visit. They've never really gone anywhere, never done anything but talk and flirt. And although he'd really like it if things moved forward, Kakashi couldn't really complain. Sometimes Sasuke accompanied Itachi to Kakashi's house, but Kakashi noticed the brothers don't really talk much. There's tension between them, which Kakashi didn't understand. From what he concluded, Sasuke was fiercely protective of Itachi, and Itachi loved Sasuke like nothing else. Yet the brothers didn't talk.

He once asked Itachi about this, asked why they don't talk to each other. Itachi said, "It's complicated. I think he may hate me a little." He wore a bitter smile on his face, and Kakashi wanted nothing more than to tell him that it didn't seem like it. He knew without a doubt that Sasuke didn't hate Itachi, and so concluded that the tension must be from misunderstanding. He asked Sasuke the same thing the next day, but the teenager-in-appearance's reply was too rude for him to even repeat to himself. His momma taught him right, and those words were just plain rude.

He enjoyed Itachi's visits, loved them even, but there was one thing he hated… just one. Each visit ended just minutes before Uchiha Fugaku arrived. Somehow, Itachi always seemed to know when his father's car would come down the street, and then he would peek up and escape. Kakashi never stopped him. And every time, just before he really exited Kakashi's house, Itachi would turn and give him the look, and Kakashi would know to keep his mouth shut. The same thing happened to Sasuke, and with pure coldness gripping his heart, Kakashi realised the brothers were scared of their father.

After that, he was never really able to breach the subject.

Which was why he was where he was today.

Most of the little town's population has moved to the thinnest edge of the forest, and there were several camp fires lit. People formed several circles around the fires, and Kakashi joined the circle with the most elderlies. He wasn't met with friendly looks like he thought he would. Konoha was overly friendly, but he realised now that the older generation was more wary. He was glad to know that there were some senses in this town. He was the first one to join the circle who wasn't over sixty, but soon after he did, several others joined. When the circle was almost full, and story time began, it became obvious that there were no children. The kids were in the circle the furthest away from this circle, and Kakashi felt a shiver of anticipation run down his back. Whatever stories… or folklores the old man at the head of the circle was going to tell, he had a feeling it'd be good.

The lady next to him, a little older than himself, offered him a smile, but the old lady cross from him eyed him like he was a thief in daylight. He smiled at both of them with his eye.

The old man, who no doubt would be the one telling the stories, put a marshmallow on the tip of his stick and poked it into the fire, his eyes squinting so much that they looked closed. He looked friendlier than the lady next to him, who was still eyeing Kakashi. He reminded himself to keep an eye on the stick in her hand. She looked just about to hit him in the head with that.

"Hmm?" The old man hummed, as the circle quietened. "Everybody is here already?" The man had this sheepish air about him, and Kakashi found himself liking him. A chuckle escaped his masked mouth when the man's marshmallow melted off his stick, and made a hiss in the fire. "Good, good. There's a big crowd tonight, and I see we have a stranger among us." His face turned to in Kakashi's direction. "What's your name, young man?" The old lady, who had been glaring at him til this point, scoffed and mumbled something under her breath. The old man scolded her. "Now, now, sis. Give him a chance. You won't make friends this way."

The lady next to Kakashi giggled, and Kakashi suspected that it had something to do with the old man's drawl. His voice was squeaky, in that funny old man voice. He put everybody at ease, and Kakashi was grateful.

"My name is Kakashi," he said. He offered everyone a smile, but it was futile with the mask on.

"Well, you certainly look like one. And what colour is your hair, exactly? And why do you wear that mask? Are you deformed?"

"Eh, Chiyo, stop that. We'll never get to the stories at this rate." The old man then turned to Kakashi. "So, are you deformed, like my sister said?"

'_Maybe this is the wrong circle_,' the secret agent thought to himself. '_Wasn't this supposed to be story night… not interrogate the new guy night?_' Out loud he said, "Well, I'm so terribly handsome that I _have_ to wear a mask, otherwise people would fall all over."

There was a stunned silence, and then the old lady, Chiyo, burst out laughing, her stick waving about in the air. It was almost comical, to see a tiny old lady bouncing in her seat from laughter.

"Ah, that's good to hear," the old man said. "What kind of story would you like to hear, young man? Since you're new here, you can choose."

Chiyo stopped laughing, her eyes secretive and imposing, landed on Kakashi. "I know what he'd like to know about. I've seen who you are around, Kakashi. It would be good for you to know." Kakashi's one visible eye widened a bit. She knew he hung around Sasuke and Itachi? Was this why she didn't particularly like him at first? Because it didn't seem like the Uchihas were the most popular people in town… as in nobody seemed to notice them. "I'll tell the story tonight, brother. You go ahead and sleep." Her brother huffed, insulted, and poked further into the fire.

"The Uchiha family?" The lady next to him asked. Her light brown eyes were wide and shocked. "_You_ talk to the Uchiha family?" Kakashi thought it was a bit ridiculous, how she seemed to jump to the conclusion that he was with the Uchihas. She was right, in her jumping to conclusion, but it was still ridiculous.

"Well of course," Kakashi replied. He remained calm, but really, on the inside he was on the edge of his seat. It seemed the Uchihas have quite the reputation. "We're neighbours. Don't you ever talk to them?"

She gasped. "Of course not! I… I don't really know why, but I just don't want to talk to them. I don't think they…" She trailed off, as if it was impossible to think too much about the Uchihas any further.

He thought it a bit rude, but remained silent, and waited for Chiyo to begin her tales.

He noticed that nobody ever visited the Uchihas, and when he trailed Sasuke to his school, the boy never opened his mouth. The teachers didn't call on him for an answer, and the other students stayed well away from him. It was obvious now that it wasn't exactly normal. Maybe the Uchihas weren't vampires, but were actually witches, and they could cast spells. A snicker slipped past his mouth. His thoughts were turning ridiculous. Vampires… witches… what happened to good old villains who wanted to take over the world? Or at least rob the local gas station…

The other circles have already stated their stories, and slowly this circle came to a hush.

"To all you younger people, you'd think that the Uchihas have always been here, been our neighbours, and you're right. They've always been here." Chiyo paused. "They were here when my brother and I were young, and they were here when our parents were young." Gasps sounded around the circle; unbelieving gasps. "It's hard to believe, I understand. Their spell over you is so great, that you won't even remember this when you go to bed later tonight. So listen carefully, and maybe one day you just might break free from the spell."

Kakashi vaguely recalled Itachi saying something about a spell, and that Kakashi seemed to be an exception from it. Sasuke said it too, said that Kakashi was immune, and that their father would be furious if he ever found out. Kakashi shuddered, and hoped to god that Fugaku never found out. And he was curious to see what the old lady meant when she said that nobody would remember after tonight. Old lady Chiyo seemed to remember just fine. He concentrated; listened for more about this spell, but old lady Chiyo seemed to have a different idea.

"Hundreds of years ago, they looked just like they do now. Our grandparents kept documentaries, and their grandparents did the same. It went back further and further, until just after this town was founded. My family line speculated, of course. We thought them vampires, immortals who drain the lives of beautiful women. We thought they were incubi; you can't really blame us for that one. They sure are lookers, aren't they?" No body responded, though Kakashi thought it had something to do with the fact that nobody here except him had actually taken a good look at the Uchihas. Nobody could remember. How could they not, though, when the Uchihas were such beautiful people? He scratched his nose. Supposedly, he couldn't blame lady Chiyo's family for thinking they were incubi.

"For a long time, we kept watch of them, never trusting them even when we couldn't remember why. They never brought harm to our town though, never. They just lived, repeating a normal person's lifetime again and again. They weren't dangerous. For a while we thought we were safe, but then the younger one, with the short, spikey hair. He went to the mayor, yelled like crazy. He said he and his brother needed help, that they were being imprisoned. He said their father was going to kill them all." She paused and turned her head to the side, coughing. Her brother gave her a cup of steaming something, and Kakashi felt guilty for wanting her to be done with it and continue the story. If Itachi… and consequently Sasuke, needed his help, he wanted to know as much as possible. "My ancestors didn't really know what happened after that, nobody could. It was never in any record, never mentioned, like it never happened. Of course… that's how their magic works. They don't bother us, and we don't bother them."

Silence overcame the circle, only interrupted by soft murmurs from other circles. The lady sitting next to Kakashi frowned when old lady Chiyo didn't continue. Kakashi leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "What do you think is going on? Personally, what do you think?"

The elder lady made a huffing sound, between a sigh and a huff, and the steam from her cup rose. "I think, on the days that I can actually see them, that the older brother loves his father too much. He's not rebelling, not doubting. He's the perfect, loyal son… they type of son you'd want hundreds and hundreds of years ago. And the younger brother loves the older too much. When it's like that, in the end, it's the father that has the power."

"So," the woman said from Kakashi's side. He glanced down at her, and didn't bother to point out to her that she was practically sitting on his lap. "So, in other words, it's like the younger brother said. It's almost like they're imprisoned?"

"Well, I guess we'll never know then. Now, let's not talk about this anymore. We've only got one night, surely there are other stories you want to hear?" Lady Chiyo flashed a big, blinding smile around the circle, and Kakashi knew it was his time to leave. There was nothing else for him, and he didn't want to force Chiyo to reveal anything else. It was obvious that she and her brother were terrified… okay, well it wasn't _obvious_, not really, but to him it was.

As he walked home, it was only from years and years of dealing with things normal people wouldn't go near that stopped him from freaking out. It was still pretty early, and so when he got home, he took off his shirts and started doing what his so called rival did whenever he couldn't process things. He got down and did push ups. Gai said to do push ups on his thumbs, but he wasn't that extreme, and so a good old routine to make him sweat will do. He started sweating twenty push ups earlier than he usually did, and the muscles on his arms, just above his elbows quaked. He was out of shape, and the anger from that thought only pushed him to do more.

The first thing he needed to know was if Chiyo and her brother could be held legit with their tale. Was it really the truth, and not some story they tell people every year. Because if what she said was true and Uchiha Fugaku was really some kind of villain, then he needed to report it in; especially if it concerned Orochimaru. It'll make him sound crazy, and his boss would doubt his ability to continue this line of work, but the thought that Itachi had been like this for hundreds of years now told him it didn't matter.

His arms gave out, shaking so hard they were almost numb. He collapsed on the floor, and the smell from the carpet told him he hasn't done the vacuum cleaning for this week yet. Breathing became a little difficult when his chest started hurting, and he turned onto his back, tugging his mask down. The air outside his mask was thinner, easier to take in, and its slight difference in smell reminded him he was no longer in headquarters. He was a mission. He was just supposed to spy on Orochimaru… not, he was just meant to catch a glimpse of him. But now he's done more than that. He's seeing more and more of Orochimaru, because the man kept coming back to meet with Sasuke.

Only now it was obvious why. Sasuke had the thing Orochimaru wanted more than _anything_ else in the world; immortality.

"Your dad doesn't mind that people are telling stories about his family?" He huffed. He tiled his head back to look upside down at his doorway, joining his kitchen and living room. He saw an upside down Itachi, and even from this angle, the bastard was still breathtakingly pretty. Which was bad, because Kakashi was already breathless. Now he can't get up, because his arms were so overworked and couldn't even sit him up. Somewhere further back in his mind, Kakashi wondered if Itachi was enjoying the view. And then he remembered that he was not wearing his mask.

He blinked, but Itachi didn't seem to notice his lack of facial covering.

"Of course he doesn't mind. They won't remember anyway."

"I remember."

Itachi's voice was now whispery as he moved closer, light on his feet like always. He crouched down over Kakashi's head, and the younger man felt his heart picking up speed. If Itachi heard the beats, he didn't show it. "You're special, we've already established that. The question now is what you're going to do with the information you have. What can you do?" His nimble fingers reached forward, and lightly traced the structure of Kakashi's face. "You can't. There's nothing you can do. You'll let Sasuke go on in his quest to free us both, you'll let him fail. That Orochimaru man would move on once he realises Sasuke is unattainable, and you'll follow him like the spy that you are." Warm fingers paused at his lips, and it took everything in him not to flick his tongue out and taste them. "I'm sure, once you leave town, the spell will work on you. You won't remember any of this."

Kakashi grabbed Itachi's wrist. "I've already reported back in. My boss is giving me the benefit of the doubt. That's not the problem with your plan, though. The problem is that this is Orochimaru we're talking about. Unlike what you think, he really does know how to break your father's hold. I'm assuming it's that tattoo on Sasuke's shoulder, yeah? I know Orochimaru well enough to know that this is nothing to him. He can do it in his sleep. He'll break your brother free, Itachi. And then he's gonna collect Sasuke's end of the bargain."

"He can't do that if he can't catch Sasuke. My brother is very fast. Anyway, even if he somehow is able to break Sasuke apart to study him inside and out, there's no way for him to get it. There's no way for him to be immortal. It… runs in the family."

"Then you'll have no problem with me stopping it before it happens, then? I'll get Sasuke to break off the deal, whatever it is. You'll allow me to do that?"

Itachi snatched his wrist back. "Fine, do whatever you want. But the moment you even think about exposing us," he looked away, an unfamiliar frown marring his face. "Don't."

**…*…**

He was going to meet Gai. He was already two hours late, but he knew Gai would wait. His eccentric friend would be waiting at a corner café, two towns away from Konoha. When Kakashi got there, they will have a seemingly normal conversation between two friends. That's really because Tsunade didn't want whatever Kakashi had to say to be through technology. She wanted the words from her most trusted agents. Kakashi would tell Gai what he knew, what he planned to do to help the Uchihas and get to Orochimaru, and then Gai would repeat, word for word, to Tsunade.

So, he got out of his car and immediately felt like he'd been asleep for a thousand years. He never knew how old-schooled Konoha was until he was here, in this larger, more modern town. He walked past a pub, smelt the alcohol and smoke, and almost passed out. Konoha had been environmentally friendly too, and its air was fresh and clean. Here… not so much…

It took him the whole walk to the café to finally get in tuned with the time.

He was two blocks away from the café, just two blocks, when the air in front of him shimmered, got denser until the air became Sasuke. He was tempted to look around to see if anybody else saw, but refused because he knew that if they did see, they wouldn't care, wouldn't remember. "Hello," he said with a small wave. "You're skipping school an awful lot. Sure you won't be grounded?" Sasuke gave him a dirty look, as if Kakashi offended him just by breathing. In other words, Sasuke said hi.

"You're going to meet a colleague. I'm coming."

That was another thing he had to mention to Gai when he got there. There was no information leak, but the Uchiha brothers seemed to always be one step ahead. They had to be getting this from somewhere.

"Oh, ok. I hope you like coffee."

Dark eyes narrowed as Sasuke crossed his arms. "You should be glad. I've noticed how desperate you're becoming to _help_ me and stop Orochimaru. This is your chance. Convince me, give me one good reason and I might back off. You want him that much, you can have him."

It wasn't like he'd been too obvious, he tried not to be, but he should have known that Sasuke would pick it up. So, yes, he was becoming desperate, in that slow, lazy way. Orochimaru's gotten away from the organisation far too many times, and then suddenly they had a chance and he was scared he was going to miss something and the snake would slip by once more. It felt that way, because even now, in this conversation with Sasuke and about to meet up with Gai, he wanted nothing but to go back and be with Itachi. Thoughts of the other man brought a downward tilt to his lips. Things would be much easier if Itachi showed some sign that Kakashi's unconditional attraction towards him wasn't unrequited. Better yet, it's be so much easier if they'd just jump each other and be done with it… though, with Itachi, Kakashi didn't think there'd ever be a '_be done with it_.'

"May I ask what changed your mind? If I remember correctly, you were dead set on working with Orochimaru."

There was a quiver to Sasuke's lips that indicated he was going to answer, but then the strangest thing happened. He blushed. "My brother… talked to me."

That explained so much. It seemed that Itachi was an over-protective brother after all.

"What did he say?" Kakashi casually asked. He was curious. When they first talked, Itachi had been set on letting Sasuke realise his own mistakes.

"None of your business! Let's go already, I don't have all day."

When Sasuke turned his back to him and marched forward, Kakashi quickly stuck his middle finger up at him, and then followed. More than a hundred years old or not, it was just wrong to be rude. Orochimaru was more polite.

When they neared Gai in the quaint little café Kakashi wasn't surprised that the other man ignored them completely. It was supposed to be just Kakashi, and if there was anyone else, protocol called for an aborted mission. Protocol didn't know shit about dealing with a crazy man who wanted immortality and two _immortal_ brothers trapped in their father's clutches. "Gai, hey there. I want you to meet my apprentice. He's clever… been around a long time. Say hi to my friend, Sasuke."

Gai raised a thick eyebrow, his eyes shifting back and forth between them. "He is Orochimaru's… acquaintance? Kakashi, are you sure he can be here?"

"Well, it's a little too late for that now, isn't it?" Kakashi took a seat opposite of Gai, and Sasuke followed suit. "It's fine, Gai. It's good that he's here."

The following conversation was one of strangeness and underlying tension. Kakashi relied heavily on Gai's photographic memory. Since Gai was going to report everything back to Tsunade, Kakashi wanted to make sure every single detail was reported. For the first time in a long time, Kakashi was determined. He needed to free Sasuke, get him far away from Orochimaru, because it's only when Sasuke is free and safe that Itachi will be freed too.

"I am… bound to my father," Sasuke started saying. He subtly shifted and the collar of his shirt revealed part of the tattoo on his shoulder. "With this my father has complete control over me. He doesn't even need to look at me to make me do anything." He paused, his dark eyes looking just a little over Gai's left shoulder. For a moment it didn't seem like Sasuke was there.

"When did you get this?" Kakashi asked. He knew more about this than Gai, and it was his job to ask all the questions so that Gai could go back to Tsunade with all the answers. "Is this what makes you immortal?"

Sasuke sat back in his chair, and like a contagious yawn, Gai and Kakashi sat back too. It was going to be a long story and everybody knew it.

"I should start from the beginning." Then Sasuke glared at them both. "I don't want this to be a waste of time. I'll do whatever I need to do to help you get Orochimaru, but after this I want Itachi and myself as far away from our father as possible." Then, as if he suddenly remembered that his and his brother's freedom rested with these two, he blinked and a neutral expression came over his face. "I can't say I can tell you every aspect of this… situation. You have to understand that I'm just the tool to my father. He doesn't tell me much."

"Tool?" Gai echoed.

"To control Itachi. Unlike me, Itachi isn't bound to our father. On the other hand, I am and that's enough to keep Itachi on a leash."

"So everything comes back to being about Itachi," Kakashi stated calmly, though he felt anything but. From what he'd been observing lately, he was convinced that Sasuke was the centre of it all, being bound to a scary looking father and all. The thought that quiet, alluring Itachi played a major role in this did not make him feel good. But this did make sense of what he saw when he first saw the Uchiha men; how Fugaku looked at Sasuke like his youngest son was a nuisance, and his eldest like a prized trophy.

"Yeah. Sometimes, when I look at my father, I think that that's why Itachi was born. A long time ago I thought I was a horrible person for thinking that our father only created Itachi for his own twisted purposes. Me, I might have been an accident. I think that… if Itachi hadn't loved me so much, he would have gotten rid of me before I even lived past ten summers."

Gai and Kakashi jerked slightly. Despite knowing that Sasuke was older than he looked, it was strange to hear him talk like he really was.

"So you're bound and your father is using your brother's love for you to keep him in line," Gai said. "Why doesn't he just do to Itachi what he did to you, bound him?"

"I don't know. I don't think he can. Ever since I can remember, father's never made a move to hurt Itachi. He…" Sasuke paused when Gai raised a hand to stop him.

"Gai?" Kakashi said.

"If I'm going to report this word for word, I need it to be as easy on me as possible. Sasuke, please start from the beginning and tell us what happened in chronological order, even up to how you and Orochimaru met and what has happened to this very moment."

Kakashi and Sasuke nodded in understanding. Sasuke, knowing that his next words will be echoed to the people who could free him and Itachi, chose his words carefully.

"For the first fifteen years of my life I thought our family was as normal as any other, if not more. We were quiet and lived just a little away from the main village. We had a small farm, just enough to grow what we needed to eat and trade for better things. Itachi and I never left the farm, and even then it occurred to me that I was supposed to have a mother." Kakashi and Gai blinked in surprise. "My mother died giving birth to me. To this very day I don't remember anything about her. I only know that Itachi resembled her a lot, and that my father let me live only because he felt that he owed it to her."

Three people entered the quaint café and the waitress led them to the table most far away from theirs, as she had been paid to do. The tables closest to theirs remained empty.

"When I turned fifteen, my father stepped out of the house and came back in a different man." Sasuke titled the corners of his lips up; a perfectly bitter smile. "The man who stepped back looked like my father, not a hair any different. But he was not my father. He smiled and smirked, trailing his fingers all over our possessions like he'd never seen them before. Then he…"

"What?"

"He took Itachi outside and they talked. It was nothing unusual. I just thought father was teaching Itachi all about the world, like he usually did. The next morning he was back, our father I mean, and I thought everything was as it should be. It wasn't. It took a long time, but eventually I noticed the subtle differences."

"Differences?" Kakashi asked curiously. It as an interesting thought to him that once upon a time Itachi had been different. Before he became immortal, had Itachi been like any other young man of twenty? Had he been young and wild and full of hope? This thought brought both yearning and pity to Kakashi.

"At first it was the unchanging. Whatever happened they never looked any different than that day. If we had to work all day long to finish work with the crops, or stay up all night to prepare for the market, their looks never showed. I'd get shadows under my eyes, my fingers scratched and bleeding, muscles trembling from exhaustion. My father and Itachi weren't like that. It was easy for me to predict what had happened."

"Easy?" Gai said. "Didn't it occur to you that maybe they were just eating healthy and sleeping well?"

A fine, dark eyebrow was raised. "And how many centuries ago do you think this was?" Sasuke answered.

Because, yeah, forgot that the young man in front of them wasn't exactly fifteen.

"Right," Kakashi said. "And how did you turn? You said Itachi did this to you?"

"Half a year after that, the town folks were getting restless. For them it was easy to be jealous of us. We had food and shelter, we lived far away from them, and we were all much better off than them. And then, with Itachi and father immortal and beautiful, they reached their breaking point. Rumours started, and we knew we had to get away before something drastic happened." The Uchiha scoffed. "They weren't as open minded to magic was my father was."

If Sasuke sounded like he was cursing his own father in his head, Kakashi and Gai didn't mention it.

"So my father packed and got ready to run. Itachi was ready to go with him, but I wasn't packing too. I had no idea what was happening, had no idea that my father was going to leave me there. My brother didn't know this too, and when he realised what was happening he dropped everything and locked himself away." He made a humming noise under his breathe, suspiciously sounding like a soft chuckle. "It was a strange night. I'd never seen my father so flustered before. He didn't know what to do. That… that was probably when I started noticing that my father could never force Itachi into anything. He couldn't touch him wrong."

Gai and Kakashi drank from their cups, but against this unbelieving tale of magic and horror, their coffee did not stand a chance.

"That's the night Itachi… changed me. He couldn't stand the thought of living without me any better than I could handle that thought. He just… ran out, then I heard a sharp cry, and he ran back in with a bowl of our father's blood." He scoffed again. "None of us did any real thinking. I just sat there and let him do it. With my life, I trust Itachi."

Gai leaned forward in his seat. His dark eyes were unfocused for a second. "And the process? What happened?"

"He drew this mark onto my shoulder with my father's blood, and then he washed it out with water. The blood washed off, but the mark stayed." Sasuke shrugged. "I don't know anything else. You'd have to speak with Itachi." He turned sharp eyes on Kakashi. "Not that you'd mind too much."

"That's true," Kakashi replied. "I'd honestly like to think we're dating, but I'm not sure if your brother thinks the same." The usual dirty look from Sasuke was directed at Kakashi, and the masked man could only smile with his eye.

"And how did it feel? Was it painful?" Gai said, ignoring his masked friend for the moment. Usually it was him that made a fool of himself, and Gai didn't know what to think that this Itachi could render his usually stoic friend a fool.

"No. It hurt just like it would if I got a tattoo. Nothing unusual. The mark throbbed for a few days, needed dressing, but after that it healed itself." Gai nodded, closed his eyes and let out a long, deep breath. Photographic memory or not, this was a long story.

"Then what happened?"

Sasuke shrugged. "Father took me with them. I don't think he really wanted to, but it was his blood in me, I was bound to him. If he'd left me there… he probably thought I'd reveal the secret or something. So we all moved, and then settled down in Konoha. Of course, back then there were only a few campers and farm animals. The village wouldn't be formed for a few years yet."

When Sasuke didn't continue to talk, Gai and Kakashi straightened up.

"And that's where you've been ever since?"

A nod confirmed it.

"Wait, if Itachi was the one who placed the seal on you, shouldn't you be bound to him, not your father?"

"I don't know. It was father's blood that Itachi used…"

All three sat for much longer. It was reasonable to get up and walk away now, but all knew that the story was not finished.

"Sasuke, you have to tell us everything," Kakashi spoke at last. "You said that you're just a tool to your father. What is he using you for? Why does he need to control Itachi?" When Sasuke didn't speak, worry for Itachi peaked. "Sasuke, tell us." Kakashi's stomach was churning, unsettled, and he was bombarded with the need to go back to Konoha and see Itachi's calm, beautiful face again.

If Kakashi hadn't been too occupied with his worry for Itachi, he would have noticed Sasuke's eyes clouding over with pain.

"You'd have to ask Itachi," he said softly. "This is his story to tell. Please, help us."

Sasuke disappeared with only a shimmer of air.

**…*…**

The opportunity to talk to Itachi came after Gai reported to Tsunade, which was not good for Kakashi because then the blonde woman continuously pressured him into talking to Itachi, but the opportunity _hadn't come up_. And so, while he was waiting for the ever so beautiful Itachi to make an appearance in his house, he was stuck with a boss who obviously liked bullying him.

"Is he there yet?" a voice said from his laptop. Technically it was against the rules to close it down, and so he did the next best thing and threw a piece of cloth over the screen. This, obviously, did not stop her voice from coming through. "Kakashi, go and find him! You live next door to him, for goodness's sake. We can't afford to wait any longer. We need the whole story."

"Why?" He groaned under his mask. "We're after Orochimaru, aren't we? We have Sasuke's cooperation, now we just get the snake man." It was more of an expression of boredom, because goodness knows Kakashi was not abandoning Itachi here.

"You know why," his boss replied softly.

And indeed he knew why. After following Orochimaru every step for over a decade, the organisation had more than enough information to unbind Sasuke and thus, free both brothers. They'd been following both Orochimaru himself and his research, and from what Gai had told him earlier, Sasuke's seal would prove to be no problem. And though it would certainly be too easy to just undo Sasuke's seal, that would leave one giant whole blank in this strange situation. There were murders in places around Konoha, and Itachi had not outright denied the Uchihas' involvements.

"Right," the masked man mumbled. "And what happens then?"

There was a pause, one in which Kakashi was glad for, because it meant that Tsunade was really putting thoughts into it. At this point she had to realise that whatever happens Sasuke, Itachi and Fugaku are immortals, and they've been around for hundreds of years.

"I can't tell you that," Tsunade said back to him, her voice distant and unrevealing through the laptop. "Just… find out, okay? I'm really too old for this."

Before Kakashi could answer with a clever, completely superior remark that showed off his true wit, two Uchiha brothers flashed into existence on top of his laptop and destroyed the coffee table it had previously been sitting on.

Both brothers hastily got up. Sasuke was behind Itachi, one arm holding Itachi's arm away from their bodies, and the other wrapped tightly across his older brother's collarbone. One of Itachi's legs curled back and twisted around Sasuke's behind the knee, and both brothers went down again. It was a struggle for both, and yet none made a sound, both their faces neutral in expression.

"Excuse me," Kakashi said. "Would you mind stepping away from the coffee table? And also, is this fight going to get destructive?"

"No!" Sasuke grunted through gritted teeth, spluttering when he got a mouthful of Itachi's hair. "Help us up!"

Reluctantly, and with good reason too, Kakashi stepped closer to the two brothers and reached for them. Then it became obvious that he wouldn't know which limb to grab for.

"Ugh, why don't you two just stop that? What's going on?"

The question halted the struggling pair, and slowly they let each other go and straighten up. Within a second it was impossible to tell that they'd just had a struggle. Not a hair was out of place.

"What's going on is that _nothing_ is going on," Sasuke growled. "I've told you all I could. You've been following Orochimaru. I should be unsealed by now."

Kakashi thought. It would be too much of a hassle to explain to Sasuke exactly why he wasn't free yet, but not explaining would just end in disaster.

Sighing, Kakashi's shoulders drooped into a slouch. "Okay, I'll make this short, but first would either of you like to tell me why my coffee table and laptop had to die? Couldn't you have used the door?"

Strangely, Sasuke smirked. "He was moping too much." Itachi glared at his younger brother and stiffly turned and walked into Kakashi's kitchen. Sasuke's smirk turned to Kakashi. It became dashingly obvious that Sasuke's mood was better than it ever had been in the last few hundred years. "He couldn't decide whether you'd be glad for his presence or not, so I took him here."

And if the sentence spoken by Sasuke made his heart race and his cheeks flush, well… then nobody would ever know.

Kakashi cleared his throat and turned slightly away, so that he could see the entrance to the kitchen from the corner of his eyes. "And the door? Couldn't you have teleported just outside my door and knocked? You realise that with my laptop dead, the only way to communicate with my boss is through the phone, and phones don't make me feel very James Bond-ish."

There was a long pause, one where Kakashi mentally slapped himself in on the head for trying too hard to get Sasuke to laugh, and hence, like him… all because he felt that Itachi would like him better if his little brother did as well. So there; reason.

"Whatever," Sasuke mumbled at last, confused. "Just, what else do you need?"

"Well, I need to know if you or anyone in your family is responsible for the murders happening around here."

It got uncomfortably silent, and the temperature seemed to have dropped suddenly. He could just imagine Itachi's reaction in the kitchen, how his eyes would widen a fraction, before coming back to being normal, how he would strain his neck just a little so he wouldn't react too obviously. All in all, Kakashi could just imagine Itachi's attempt to hide his guilty face. Who knew, he knew Itachi better than he thought he did.

"Yeah," Sasuke spat the word out.

Within a second Itachi was back from the kitchen, fury blazing in his eyes. "Sasuke!" He barked.

"No, he has to know," Sasuke said. Neither brother raised their voice. This would be an argument that would be very calmed and serene. "We're not going anywhere if we just sit and take orders. That's enough, Itachi. You can't honestly tell me that you really want this god forsaken demon up here.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened. His fingers twitched, unconsciously wanting to get his boss back on the com. "Wait, demon? Why is there a demon involved?" Calmly, he turned to Itachi. "Demons are real?"

Itachi frowned. "Vampires are an even more ridiculous concept that demons, and yet that was the first thing you thought I was."

Sasuke huffed. "Don't get distracted," he said to Kakashi. "Yes, demons are real, in fact I think that might have been what possessed my father and made Itachi immortal. Let me get this out. Yes, Itachi is the one who murdered all those people. And yes, it is completely against his will. We're six victims away from freeing that demon. Free me, free my brother, and the murders stop. Kill my father if you have to."

"Sasuke," Itachi whispered. His voice now full of shock and horror. "You're betraying father."

And despite what he's just heard, what has been confirmed, Kakashi hated himself for desperately wanting to take Itachi into his arms and bury his face into his hair. Did it make him a horribly man for _wanting_ someone who murdered someone new every month and never got caught?

* * *

><p>R and R please?<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Title: His Father's Clutches

Pairing: Kakashi/Itachi

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Warning: Yaoi, shounen-ai and supernatural themes. This is an ALTERNATE UNIVERSE story. So no ninja… Also I think Kakashi's kinda out of character…

**His Father's Clutches**

The urge to hurl and then run away and lock himself in his bathroom nearly overwhelmed Kakashi. And it angered him even more that the Uchiha brothers were still talking about it so calmly. Did they not understand the concept of murder? That this made Itachi a monster?

Both Uchiha seemed to have sensed his emotional turmoil, but reacted differently. Itachi met his eyes for a split second and then danced away and out the window. He'd never looked more regal, perfect, and Kakashi half hated him for it when really he was just a monster on the inside. Sasuke huffed and flopped himself down on Kakashi's couch.

"Don't look at him like that," he hissed to the silver haired man. And of course Kakashi should have known that Sasuke would still be protective of his older brother. "It was against his will. You think someone like him would really enjoy murdering people?"

"Don't speak as if I'm not here," the first born Uchiha scolded. "And why does it matter? You can always just force them to unseal you."

"You really mean that?" Kakashi said softly. "Itachi you're a killer. It doesn't matter what circumstances, all those peoples' blood are on your hands." He paused and tried his hardest to catch Itachi's eyes. Hurt bloomed across his chest and through his heart when he couldn't. "We'll undo Sasuke's bind once he's helped us get Orochimaru. After that, you'd be placed under arrest and held in a special facility."

"You have some nerves saying that in front of me," Sasuke said calmly.

Kakashi sighed. "Just, go away for tonight. I need to think."

The brothers did not hesitate and calmly, ordinarily walked out his front door.

When morning came Kakashi could not honestly say he fell asleep. He also couldn't say he didn't fall asleep. He hasn't moved from his place on the chair, half laying on it and half sitting. On any mission he'd never been one to sit and brood when something got bad, but in this case he couldn't do anything else. What hurt him the most was the fact that by being confronted with this horrendous news about Itachi's activities, it also revealed to him that deep down he'd been harbouring some stupid hope that they'd be together in the end, that once both brothers are free they'd buy a house somewhere and Kakashi would have someone to come home to. That was what hurt the most; the realisation that that would never happen.

At eight fifteen in the morning two men walked through his front door. They were not Sasuke and Itachi. This pair was more vibrant in colour, was more humane.

The first man was the tallest, with brown hair and slightly droopy eyes. He offered Kakashi a lazy smile when spotted. The second man was obviously younger, shorter, and shone so bright Kakashi cringed in his head. Bright blond hair spiked out and pointed in every other direction, even down to his eyes, which were sky blue.

For a long, long time Kakashi stared at them. The two younger men stood in front of his door, duffel bags in hand, and fidgeted. Kakashi could understand why; his lone eye stare was intense. But they would never know that in his head Kakashi was secretly celebrating… because Yamato and Naruto meant normalcy (sort of) and no centuries-old mysteries and binding spells (he hoped.) It meant that he'd not have to suffer through this alone, and if push came to shove, he could always use some outside perspective on his almost none existing love life.

Though, looking at his nervous, shifty eyed companions, Kakashi doubted they'd be much help.

"Welcome," he drawled. He mentally patted himself on the back, for his voice managed to sound deep and husky, and a little bit mysterious. It did not give away his distress. "To what do I own this honour?"

"Ugh," Naruto breathed, his nervous eyes landing everywhere but at the silver haired man. It wasn't that he was afraid of Kakashi, the older man knew, but it probably had more to do with his messy condition. He'd been in that seat since last night, half laying on it and half dangling on the floor. This was what Itachi could render him to with just a glance. "You were cut off last night when you were talking to the old lad… umm, Tsunade. We thought you were in trouble, so we came as soon as possible. So… what's wrong?"

Tenzou, or Yamato, as he now preferred to be called, sighed awkwardly, before leading the blond deeper into Kakashi's home. This made the silver headed man wistful, for it had not been that long since it was just him and Itachi in here, just talking and flirting and catching each other's eyes and hoping.

"Nothing's wrong really," he said. "But now that you're here, I guess it's good too." He ignored both his younger companions' peeved expressions. "I think it's about time we bring in Orochimaru. We have the info and we have someone who can communicate and meet with him." Silently sighing one last time, he stood up from his seat, and… when he was sure he'd stood with his back straight, he slouched once more. This was his usually position, now… if he could just locate his reliable book.

**…*…**

Two days after Naruto and Yamato –and their unusually massive appetites- arrived, the air over Kakashi's coffee table shimmered, became denser and Sasuke's physical being grew out of it. Much to Kakashi's relief, the teenager in appearance landed gracefully on the table and stepped off. Nothing broke. This fact did nothing to stop the bewildered stares from Naruto and Yamato, and Kakashi's irritated one. Then, as if Sasuke could sense Kakashi's '_excuse me old man, but what did I tell you about using the door?_' stare, he scoffed and walked over and opened Kakashi's front door.

Itachi walked in.

"Happy?" Sasuke snapped.

"I am, actually," Kakashi said lowly. "Though I'm not so sure about him," here he gestured to Itachi, "being here."

Kakashi met Itachi's glare head on. It did not help that Itachi happened to be wearing jeans that day. Kakashi's never met anyone who looked so delicious in jeans and a T-shirt. Even in casuals, Itachi was heart breakingly pretty.

"You don't look as upset as you should be, detective," Itachi said, before smirking in his direction. The word 'detective' has never sounded so hot.

Whatever lifting feeling Kakashi had experienced upon seeing Itachi disappeared. It didn't matter that he might have been falling for the other man, and it didn't matter that he might have already been in love with him. Itachi was a murderer, and never in a million year would it work out between them.

"Why are you here?" He asked instead.

It was Sasuke who answered, subtly –but not nearly enough- shifting to stand closer to Itachi, slightly between his older brother and the silver haired man.

"I've set a meeting with that Oro what's-his-name guy. It's in four days. I hope you'll be ready by then."

"Dude," Naruto suddenly said from his place next to a still-gaping Yamato. "You've been messing with this guy. Shouldn't you at least be able to say his name?"

Sasuke glared. Itachi moved to sit on the couch, too casual. "I never had to. If he was going to cheat on our deal I'd have to just trace his scent."

"Wait, so if you can do that, why are you siding with us?" Yamato asked. "Not that… I'm complaining."

Sasuke refused to answer, and huffed and sat down next to his brother. For a short moment it occurred to Kakashi that he should really kick these two out of his home.

"I asked him to. I believe I trust Kakashi more than this stranger," Itachi said softly. Kakashi's ego did not take this comment well. It didn't exactly sound like a compliment.

"If you don't mind my asking," Yamato started, looking at Sasuke. "You've been around for hundreds of years, apparently. Why haven't you figured out a way to unbind yourself?"

Again it was Itachi who answered. He spoke at a low volume, his voice suddenly cold and just a little too calm. It occurred to Kakashi that he's never seen Itachi angry, and it disturbed him even more that he _wanted_ to. He wanted to see everything that was Uchiha Itachi. "He was bound to our father. A single command from him and there was nothing Sasuke could do. Come on now; let's stop speaking nonsense and start planning. Shouldn't you be contacting your boss?"

Soon they set up a communication circuit, linking to the people who needed to know about the plan. For a long time they discussed strategy, discussed the number of people they'd need to bring in Orochimaru. At the same time they got to know the powers that the Uchiha brothers possessed. Sasuke had break-neck speed, could appear and disappear in a blink of an eye and had the sharpest sense of smell and an accar hearing. They didn't even need to ask him what he could do in in a fight. It wasn't like they hadn't all been exposed to the idea of superpowers, but it was completely different to read about it in comic books and then being in the same room as someone who's been around for hundreds of years.

As for Itachi… well his powers seemed to be the same as Sasuke. Kakashi couldn't bring himself to imagine someone like Itachi raising his arms to fight. Mass murderer or not, someone like Itachi should never have to fight.

Orochimaru had been suspicious that Sasuke would request a meeting so soon after the last one and the immortal had promised his older brother's presence. Orochimaru hadn't been able to resist; the thought of another perfect, immortal being tempted him too much. The meeting was in four days, at their last meeting spot which at that point Kakashi barely remembered the path to. By then, Tsunade would have already sent half a dozen of her most talented agents.

Only a little bit of what happened afterwards was discussed.

Tsunade had demanded to bring Itachi in as soon as they had Orochimaru locked up and Sasuke had forwardly told her that they'd flee to the other side of the world. A petty argument between Naruto and Sasuke started out at that point, and Yamato had led them to finish their verbal battle in the kitchen. In the living room Itachi told Tsunade that after Sasuke was free, he'd no longer have something for his father to hold over his head. Sasuke would not be harmed by their father if Itachi refused to kill any longer, which he intended to… refuse that was. The blond woman had then pointed out that this did not excuse the killings that have been happening in the last few hundred years, over half a dozen thousand innocent people dead. This statement had completely quietened Itachi, and Kakashi was only able to feel a short moment of glee.

"Then lock me away if you must," Itachi said.

And Kakashi hated that in that moment he'd made up his mind. Itachi was not going from one everlasting prison to another.

**…*…**

The moment Naruto and Yamato left to go meet up with the reinforcements sent for tomorrow's mission, Kakashi felt Itachi's silent presence return to his living room.

The masked man sighed, and let his head hang for a moment. "Please tell me you forgot something and will be gone in just a second."

"You would continue to act like this towards me? I'd thought we'd… I thought we were friends. You'd not let me defend myself?"

"You've had plenty of opportunities. The moment Sasuke told me you _should_ have defended yourself." He felt the smaller man move closer, his slight body a strong, undeniable force. Kakashi clenched his eyes shut. "Not that it would have done much."

A small ruffling sound, and then Kakashi felt a hand fist his shirt from the back. Itachi spoke, his voice calm and quiet, but no longer in control. He was on the very edge, just a few hurtful words away from revealing how he felt. "I'm not saying that all of the sacrifices had been against my will. The first few years I'd been glad to perform them." Kakashi's shoulder tensed, more so than already, and Itachi brought his other hand up to hold onto Kakashi's shirt from the back. "Father said they were special, and that they had to die. He told me it was an honour to serve _him_."

Kakashi swirled around, tearing his shirt away from the loose grip of Itachi's. "And you just did it? Just like that?" He tore his mask off. He was in a yelling mood, and a yelling mood did not need a mask. Itachi has already seen his face anyway; it didn't matter. "It's murder, Itachi. Anyway any form it's still murder. You think those people you killed were happy to die? How _could_ you do that?"

Itachi's face stared up at him. Nothing's changed, but Kakashi felt that those large dark eyes were unusually large today, confused and just a little bit hurt. "He's my father," Itachi said at last, and Kakashi stepped back as if his words stung him.

With all that's happened, all that he's come to know in the recent months; it never occurred to Kakashi that Itachi loved Fugaku, his father. The thought never came to him that perhaps Itachi only wanted to please his father, wanted to be a good son… and, back then it wasn't like murder meant what it did now.

Unable to form words to let Itachi in on what he was feeling, Kakashi said, "Keep talking."

Smooth as ever, Itachi did not let on his surprise. "After a few years, I thought we would stop. I expected my father to only need a few, but he kept finding sacrifices for me and once I started to hesitate he brought Sasuke along."

"You keep calling them sacrifices," Kakashi said as he walked to sit on the lone seat, leaving Itachi to either stand or sit opposite of him. "Nothing can be gained from their deaths. Stop calling them that."

Casually, Itachi shrugged. "That's what I was taught to call them. Father said that's what they were. In order for the old demon to come across it needed a bridge."

"Bridge?"

"A bridge of human souls, I suppose. I was never really interested enough to ask him for the details."

"Really?" Kakashi said calmly, fury boiling up once again. "Just…" he tensely massaged the bridge of his nose, "… keep talking." He nodded once when Itachi sat down on the larger couch.

"Once I started outright refusing to kill anymore, Sasuke started suffering. It began with headaches, then the ache spread to his shoulders, his arms and legs, and then to just his insides. There was nothing he could do. I… couldn't stand watching him like that. I was the one who was too weak to let him go, I was the one that bound him to father. I had to take responsibility. I understand that the people I've killed for Sasuke's sake… their death would never be justified, but I love Sasuke too much. When I was sure that Sasuke wasn't suffering, the deaths bothered me less. I could do anything for Sasuke."

"…"

"And I understand that it's time for me to pay. I just… I…" At the same time that he appeared to be troubled, Itachi managed to look angry… angry at being troubled. It was almost ccar.

"You what?" Kakashi said with a softened voice. He hadn't been aware, but now he was, that he yearned to hear certain words from Itachi. What they had, it couldn't end yet. It couldn't end, not because it was strong and deep and old, but because it was passionate and young, it hadn't had time to _be_ anything yet. It couldn't end because it wasn't anything yet. And Kakashi wanted it, Itachi wanted it. Though it did make him question himself; what kind of man was he that he'd want someone who's had a past like Itachi, someone who's had blood on his hands.

"I don't want to go," Itachi let out in a breathy whisper. Kakashi couldn't hear, but he recognised the words that Itachi's lips formed. "I don't want to go."

It was ridiculous that Kakashi thought his feelings would change. Even with all that he knew he wanted nothing more than to go back to those days, days of short meetings for tea and flirt. Just him and Itachi. And to think… he was so close to calling up Tsunade and demanding another, more action-packed assignment. He was _this_ close to missing Itachi.

They sat silently until Kakashi's clock let out a tiny, quiet beep. It was nine at night; tomorrow they would give everything they had to bring in Orochimaru. The day after that they'd bring Sasuke back to headquarters and they'd use Orochimaru's ingenious research material to unbind the boy. Itachi would remain at home, making sure that their infamous father had no reason to suspect anything was going on. What happened after that would remain a mystery until the time came…

But in the meantime… Itachi was here, in front of him, solid and real and sorry and for Kakashi to _have_.

On bones that were suddenly, mysteriously less weary, Kakashi got up and walked to be in front of Itachi, where he squatted down on one knee to be at eye level. A calloused, experienced hand cupped a warm, soft cheek. A thumb slowly, teasingly caressed across the top of said cheek and a breathy moan slipped past coral coloured lips. Itachi's warm breath caressed Kakashi's wrist as the smaller man unconsciously slid forward in his seat, closer to Kakashi's waiting, kneeling form. Anticipation gripped them both. It wasn't until he felt Itachi tug on his hand that Kakashi realised he'd closed his eyes. The younger man met him half way.

Their lips clashed with an unfortunate amount of force that would leave bruises, but neither seemed to care. Kakashi opened his mouth for Itachi, letting the much, much older being explore. The kiss lasted and lasted and when Kakashi's neck ached from craning up so much he tugged hard at Itachi and pulled him from the couch. Both grunted when they collided with the floor. On the floor together, panting, Kakashi used one hand to grab a fistful of Itachi's hair at the back and took him into another kiss. As a passing thought, it occurred to him just how right Itachi fit into him.

Itachi groaned, bunching up his shoulder and pressing ever closer to the bigger man. He was almost on the other man's lap. The kiss was wet and slippery -friction producing a sweat amount of wet noises- too rushed and just seconds away from breaking them all to bits. A tongue invaded Itachi's mouth, probing and teasing, and he shivered, never knowing that another's tongue could be so pleasurable. Kakashi's tongue started to retreat, and Itachi followed with his whole body. They both tumbled onto the living room floor; Itachi perched on Kakashi's chest. Not yet able to form coherent thoughts, Itachi continued the kiss. He wanted other things, of course, wanted Kakashi, but he found it ever so difficult to tear his lips away. "Mm, more." A sharp, painful tug on the hair at the back of his head forced him back down to Earth.

"You're not being locked up," Kakashi said. Itachi stared; should he feel insulted that even during a heated make out session Kakashi somehow sounded so calm? "After this, you're free. You're _not_ being locked away."

A tiny and brief smile made an appearance on Itachi's youthful face, before disappearing again. His dark eyes trailed down to settle on Kakashi's exposed lips. "Hn, what will I do? There's nothing left I want to be," he was interrupted by Kakashi.

"I just thought of something," the agent said boldly. "After Sasuke's unsealed, will you still be immortal?"

As if he's expected Kakashi to ask, Itachi sighed softly –if not a little bit fondly- and laid his head down on Kakashi's chest. The rise and fall of the other man's chest lulled him. The making out, and even the sex, could wait. After all he had eternity.

"Sasuke will perhaps continue to grow, like the binding never happened, or he will stay the same. All the same he has a chance; it could be either. I, on the other hand, I will not change. I'll be like this for the rest of time until someone manages to cut off my head and my limbs and burn it with white rice grain." It was embarrassing, Itachi thought, that after living for so long, the thought of finally dying and resting scared him. Perhaps this fear was because he now had someone else to live for, someone mortal and will probably die in a few years.

"You realise you just told me the way to kill you, yes? Why do I get the feeling that you're not as happy as you can be about finally being free?"

Itachi shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it'll hit me tomorrow." Bring a hand up to lie beside his head on Kakashi's chest; he fisted the man's shirt. "Just don't disappear on me yet. I haven't the chance…"

Whatever else Itachi was going to say remained a mystery, as he trailed off.

And even as they moved to Kakashi's bedroom and just slept under the covers, neither were able to say what would happen after Sasuke was free. Sasuke being free could easily be an ecstatic thought; well done, good for him, but for Itachi, who's always been free, it meant losing that one purpose he's had for staying with Fugaku. What next? Would he travel? No, he hated travelling. He loved being in one stable, safe place. Sasuke wanted to travel, to know everything, which was why he'd been hinting to Naruto to see if Tsunade could probably use another apprentice to go along with Naruto and another girl who remained nameless, but apparently had pink hair. He would get a happy ending. If he started aging again, he'd be aging with his friends. He'd live life long and full. That was Sasuke.

After Sasuke was free, the demon would not be able to cross over, the bridge still incomplete and weak. The demon would remain in its lonesome universe and Itachi would not become an anchoring whore to ground it to the world, as his whole immortal existence had been planned to be. So what would Fugaku, the faithful worshipper of said demon do? He'd be immortal too. Perhaps Tsunade would lock him up. Itachi could be okay with that. He'd long grown out of his love for his father just that little bit. Loyal son or not, after a few hundred years it got tiring.

Maybe he could fulfil his dream? Oh, what dream?

Kakashi's hand gently, rhythmically caressed his hair and Uchiha Itachi sighed, tingling all over for the touch of the other man. "Kakashi, I know this is a bad time, but I love you very much. I know it doesn't appear to be so, but I'm very happy when I'm near you." No way better than short and to the point.

Itachi tried not to be intimidated by the stretch of silence that followed his declaration.

"Oh, good. I thought I was the only one. In that case, I love you too you vampire, you."

Itachi smiled, because though the moving up and down of Kakashi's chest did not change pace, the beating underneath it did. Itachi's heart beat quickened to match the one he was laying on, the one that belonged to Hatake Kakashi and was beating a mile a mincar, thumping away under his ear.

"You call me a vampire, but what are you anyway? Are you a detective, or are you a field agent? Are you an undercover agent, or are you a spy? If we're going to be dating, I need to know what to tell my father when I bring you home." It was a bad joke, maybe it was even the first one ever to be cracked by Itachi, but Kakashi could only comprehend one thing; they were in love. And… okay, so finding true love at the age of thirty was maybe a little too late for his liking, but Kakashi liked to think he's done well.

"Hmm, well I talk fast, I'm a good actor and I actually enjoy lying to people. Being undercover is fun too sometimes, and I think I like spying and playing in fields. All in all… I think I'm a ninja. I even have the mask for it."

Itachi shifted closer to Kakashi's warmth, pulling the cover of the bed over his shoulder and halfway up his head. He loved that Kakashi's scent was in every breath he took. "I don't believe you. You're not serious enough most of the time to be ninja."

"That actually hurt my feelings."

"You lie." And before he fell asleep Itachi thought he felt a big hand creeping up his back. It was a safe hand, though, and he easily fell into it, leaving himself loose and easy for this one mortal.

**…*…**

Itachi decided that he actually liked Orochimaru, nothing considered. If Orochimaru was not a madman and didn't kidnap people to experiment on them, and if the man hadn't looked at his baby brother like he was a piece of meat, Itachi would like him. He was clever, smart, and educated and charming. He had a sense of humour and appeared to be the type of person who actually cared about the environment. So, Itachi liked him, _nothing_ else about the man considered.

Orochimaru seemed to like him too; if the man's narrow eyes' brightening was any indication. Itachi knew what was going on in the other man's head. There was Sasuke, who was immortal but was hindered by a binding seal, and then there was Itachi, who was immortal and free, untouched. Definite favouritism right there.

"Remarkable," Orochimaru breathed. "I wouldn't have believed there was another, if he wasn't standing right in front of me. This makes me wonder, Sasuke, who else you've kept hidden from me. Is your whole family immortal?"

"Yes, actually," Sasuke said bluntly. His arms were crossed and he was leaning casually back against a tree. Itachi knew his brother well. It took a lot to fascinate Sasuke, or even interest him, and apparently a mad scientist bent on immortality was not interesting enough. "Now, about the seal? You gotten anywhere?"

The lie that spewed out of Orochimaru's mouth came as smoothly as… smooth things. It was at this point that Itachi knew Sasuke had kept the powers out of discussion. If Orochimaru knew that Sasuke had the powers that he did, he would not lie. The human heart did not beat as quietly and rhythmically when under the stress of lying. "Ah, yes, of course. In fact, I'd like to invite you both back to my lab. My research is so broad; it would go much smoother if I had another set of hand nearby, rather than just my young, inexperienced apprentice."

Itachi raised his eyebrows at the blatant lie, while Sasuke scoffed. The younger brother was most likely embarrassed that at one point he'd been desperate enough to trust this man.

"Just get it over with, Itachi," he hissed.

"Actually, I'm just the bait, remember?"

"Fine." Sasuke glared at Orochimaru. "Look, you're under arrest, okay? It's nothing personal, so don't bother wondering what you did to me. Now… hold out your hands or something…"

"You don't have hand cuffs," Orochimaru stated, a strange look forming on his pale face. "If I held out my hands, that would be a waste of time."

"Right… yeah, you're still under arrest though."

"Are you a cop?"

"No."

"Are you with my dear friend Tsunade?"

"Eww… you creep. She's only fifty five."

The bewildered look passed Orochimaru's face again and Itachi rolled his eyes. Of course Sasuke's social awkwardness would extend even to situations like this. That, or Sasuke was in one of those moods where he liked to slowly drive people up the wall with his nonsense talk.

Orochimaru spoke, taking steps back to be away from both Uchiha brothers. "Well, you didn't think I'd come unprepared, did you?"

"You don't look like you'd come prepared."

"That's the point. If you can tell that I was prepared just by looking, I wouldn't be prepared now would I?" He brought forth a small pistol from under his shirt. Itachi liked Orochimaru even more when the man didn't even hesitate before taking aim and pulling the trigger. The bullet slammed into Itachi's right shoulder. He won't die, obviously, and he would heal back up in mere hours, but immortality did not offer the benefit of not feeling pain. A startled grunt slipped past Itachi's lips, and over that sound he was aware of Tsunade's agents moving in.

Orochimaru never panicked, and Itachi silently cheered him on. It didn't mean that he was hoping Orochimaru would win. It was because he knew that he wouldn't, that he was cheering him on.

Many more gun shots rang out, but nobody made a pained sound, before the fight took a more physical turn. The order was to bring Orochimaru in alive, and guns won't do that.

Silently, Itachi dragged himself up and sat under a tree, finding entertainment from the fight. Why was it that he was the one with the bullet buried in him when he was just supposed to be bait?

Sasuke caught his eyes, before looking down. When Itachi followed his gaze he found his wounded skin starting to knit itself over the bullet hole. He frowned. It the wound closed, he'd have to reopen it again to get the bullet out. He brought his left hand to put a finger in the hole and stop the first stage of the healing, but stopped. By leaving the bullet in, he would have something to do after this ordeal was over. He would have something to occupy his mind as he watch his brother walk out on his life. Resigning, he let the wound heal.

Three more people entered the clearing, none of them wearing the uniform that indicated they worked under Tsunade. So Orochimaru came prepared. The fight, with Itachi sitting out, was five of Tsunade's men, including Sasuke, against four others. It was obvious their side will win, especially if Sasuke was involved, and yet the fight was not over. This was perhaps because Orochimaru himself was a slippery man. He never seemed to stay still, and when he was close to being caught he brought out yet another trick. He was caught, finally though, when Sasuke disappeared and reappeared behind him, using the cuff Gai had given him to bind the man. Simple; just like that. It really put a spotlight on the limitations of mortality.

Sasuke's actions shocked Orochimaru's people, and that was enough time for Tsunade's men to get them. The fight was over, as most fights in the twenty first century tended to be, and Itachi was left slightly disappointed. He remembered older days where fights were more entertaining, were battles.

Kakashi came to him, his walk a slight swagger.

"That's a nasty wound you have… for someone who did nothing but sit under a tree," he said, his one visible eye half lidded. For someone a few hundred years younger than him to act like this to Itachi; it was pure insolence, and it stirred something warm and flirty in his loins. His stomach dropped, in a very pleasant way, and suddenly Itachi couldn't wait to get back to Kakashi's house and be all alone with him. Last night was left unfinished. "Come on, I'll take you home." And goodness, but by home Itachi hoped he meant _his_ home. He didn't want to go back to Fugaku's house anymore.

Kakashi gingerly helped him up and left his arm slung casually around Itachi's waist as they walked to Kakashi's car. None of them mentioned anything about teleporting away, not when Itachi was injured and Kakashi was worried out of his mind –despite his obvious aloof appearance.

"That was the easiest arrest I've ever seen," the silver haired man said once he got behind his wheels and started the engine. "I was expecting more from Orochimaru actually. We've been tracking him for a decade; I just thought he'd have more up his sleeves. Oh, don't get any blood on the seat. It's gonna stain."

Itachi glared and turned his head away.

"I'm joking."

"…"

"Are we not gonna have sex now?"

"Kakashi, shut up."

"… I'm sorry. It's been a long time since I've last worried about anybody. I forgot how it's supposed to go. Should I ask if you're okay?"

"Kakashi, drive."

Just when Itachi thought the drive would be in peace, Kakashi spoke. "Do you want to borrow my book?"

And Itachi reminded himself that he was in love with this man, and maiming him was not the way to express it.

**…*…**

It was Tuesday. Sasuke had gone off with Kakashi, Yamato and Naruto to get his seal undone. He'd been excited, practically vibrating with it, and Itachi had plastered on a smile for him when they parted way. It wasn't a goodbye, but he felt like it was nonetheless. It didn't help that all of Kakashi's possession in his house had been packed up in boxes, ready to be moved. His assignment was coming to an end and by this time two days on he would be somewhere else, under cover or not, starting another assignment. At that time, Sasuke would also be starting his apprenticeship with Tsunade. He'd be free and alive and with potential friends.

It also meant that Itachi would no longer have to kill and Fugaku would have no use for him. The thought brought on a pain to his chest.

Kakashi had said he loved him, but to this day they'd not talked once about where things would go. Obviously having a normal relationship was out of the question. Kakashi was a secret agent who didn't plan on retiring anytime soon; he was one of Tsunade's bests, if not the, and Itachi was a passionless person who would not age. He'd still look not a day past twenty one when Kakashi was old and dead. Sasuke had hinted once to him that maybe he could join the agency as well, but the idea was shot down when Itachi pointed out that he wouldn't be of any use; all he wanted was to be with Kakashi.

He wanted to do nothing else. He wanted Kakashi, only.

"I have another one. Come with me now."

Though startled by the voice coming from behind him, Itachi didn't show it and spun around to see his father. There used to be a time when he only felt admiration and love when he looked at the older man, but accompanying those emotions now was disappointment and hurt. This was the man who did not hesitate to torture his youngest son all because his eldest didn't want to kill people.

"Father," Itachi said. "This is an unusual time."

"It doesn't matter. We're only a few souls away from completion. Come with me now, Itachi."

Itachi blinked, and then turned to look out the window once more. "No."

"You would defy me now? After all that you've done. If you don't finish this, all those people you've killed will have died for nothing."

"Then why don't you finish it yourself? You're the devil worshipper, not me. Sasuke is no longer bound to you and you can't make me do anything anymore."

"Che," Fugaku scoffed. "Don't speak of that boy in front of me. I don't need him. You will finish this because that is what you were created for. Your mother was _chosen_ specifically to birth you."

A cold, unyielding chill ran down Itachi's arms.

In all the years Fugaku had not once come this close to speaking about why it was that Itachi had to be the one to sacrifice the people. This was a chance.

"Are you saying that you didn't love mother?"

"That's not what I said. I did come to love her, but she was no more than a stepping stone at first. I loved her enough that I let that boy live even after he took her away."

"But you didn't marry mother because you loved her. You can't say that…"

"He needed an anchor. He needed someone who was created only for him. You were that child, you were perfect. Don't _mess_ this up." He moved closer, gripped Itachi's shoulder in a tight grip and spun him around. "Get in the car!"

"Stop it," Itachi hissed, glaring at the man before him as he brushed his hand away. "I won't kill anymore. You can't make me."

"You've killed thousands, Itachi; don't think growing a conscience now can save you." Once more Fugaku brought his hand up to Itachi's shoulder and gripped it tight. "Get in the car." He plunged his thumb into where the wound used to be, and pushed the bullet deeper into his son's flesh.

A high pitched gasp escaped his mouth, and Itachi felt his knees shake.

The shock was immense, because Fugaku had never, ever, harmed him physically in any way. What changed?

Blood seeped out of the wound and wet his shirt, and his body froze up. It was at this moment that Itachi realised, with horror, that he's never been hurt before, and his first time was at the hand of his own father. A choked gasp sounded, and Itachi griped his father's wrist with both his hands. When he tried to tug Fugaku's wrist away, he felt his father's thumb curl in his wound.

Itachi collapsed onto the floor, silent agony frozen on his face. Fugaku's expression did not change. "I've never had to do this, but you need to grasp the importance of his arrival. You need to trust me when I say that Madara needs to arrive!"

With wavering breath, Itachi spoke. "Why? What will he do?" When Fugaku twisted his thumb, Itachi hissed, annoyed. "You know what? I don't care. He's not coming." He teleported.

But halfway through, Fugaku did the same. They both reappeared on the other side of the living room. Not a moment later Fugaku turned, gripped Itachi under his arm pits and threw him over his shoulder. The younger of the two landed heavily on the coffee table, on his back, and the table broke. "I don't need you to be willing to kill. I don't even need you conscious. As long as it's your hand that grips the blade, it'll suffice." Upside down, Itachi watched as his father's fist came down on his face.

He wasn't surprised that Fugaku had powers as well, he was, however, shocked that he hadn't thought about it before.

Quickly he rolled off the broken table top and yanked his father's ankle from under him. The other man tumbled down, and Itachi caught sight of the gun on his holster. He knew Fugaku wouldn't shoot and risk killing him, but there were still places he could be shot at and still live. Itachi scrambled and quickly took the gun from the hoister, and upon realising that he was about to point at his own father, threw it out the front door. Fugaku didn't even notice, furious as he was.

"I've worked too long, too hard for it to end like this," the older man spat, gracefully standing up. "What was it that made you act? The neighbour? I let him live because I thought he'd be harmless." He glared at Itachi. "I had no idea you were capable of falling in love."

Itachi was stuck. On one hand he wanted so desperately to teleport away, but where would he go? It's been over two three years since he was last out of Konoha. And even if he could, his father could easily disrupt his teleportation and he'd be stuck here. On the other hand he wanted to attack his father. Did the older man not love his sons at all? So much as to think one of them unable to feel love? And yet, even as he imagined attacking his father, he felt sick. It wasn't right for a son to fight his father, was it?

"You're in love with the idea of him, aren't you? You think you love him, but you don't know. You've never loved. I'm telling you now; it's just the idea of loving someone that makes you want him. It'll pass, this insolent phase will pass and if you don't finish what we've been doing for centuries, you'll come to regret it."

What made it unbearable was the fact that Fugaku had a point. Itachi could really love Kakashi, or maybe just the idea of him, but he'd never know. He had nothing to compare it to. It certainly felt different from the love he felt for Sasuke, and so much more different then the love he felt for his father. What other kind of love are there?

"It doesn't matter," Itachi said at last. "This has nothing to do with him anyway. This is me refusing to kill innocent people anymore, and Sasuke finally being free of your curse."

Fugaku scoffed. "_My_ curse? I believe I wanted to abandon him. I wanted to leave him in that rotten place, let him rot with them. It was you who was too weak to let him go. You put that on him. The very least you can, son, is be a man and admit it."

His heart beat quickened and Itachi was hit with a dizzy spell. His head became heavy with tension and he knew this was his temper rising. "Be quiet," he snapped. "I don't care what the demon in your head is saying, that bridge will not be complete and you're powerless without me. I won't kill. You can't make me. After today don't expect to see any of us again."

The words, and thus the tension, have left his head clear, but the sting of the betrayal was still there. For a long time he really had thought that what he and Fugaku were doing would bring honour to the family. He'd been a loyal son and done everything his father had commanded. This was not the ending he had pictured. He hadn't imagined he'd be leaving his father. No… what hurt the most was that maybe he'd always hoped that Fugaku loved both his sons deep inside. It hurt that he'd been proven wrong.

"Where will you go? You've never left my si…" whatever else Uchiha Fugaku was going to say remained unsaid.

Hatake Kakashi loomed in the doorway, tall and silent and every bit intimidating. Kakashi was here to rescue him, Itachi realised. Only, he didn't really need the rescuing. The thought, however, counted.

"Is it done?" Itachi asked him. He hoped it was done, that Sasuke was free, because really it felt like it'd just been minutes since his younger brother left. When Kakashi nodded silently, his eyes never leaving the stoic Fugaku, Itachi said, "Where is he?"

"Back at HQ," Kakashi answered him.

Wanting to make it as quickly as possible, Itachi said, "Then let's go."

"Not yet. I have to arrest him." Kakashi moved further into the house, in such a way that he had Itachi by his side and faced against the oldest Uchiha. Fugaku was too quiet, too calmed, and Kakashi just knew that his arrest would not be as easy as Orochimaru's.

Itachi silently looked back and forth between the two men. It was obvious that Fugaku thought Kakashi was nothing more than a bug, and was more than willing to swat him away. It looked like Fugaku barely acknowledged Kakashi's existence; a fact that made Itachi boil quietly with anger. It frustrated him that Fugaku didn't think Kakashi was worth much, because Kakashi was special, someone Itachi wanted more than freedom itself.

On the other hand, Kakashi looked as aloof as ever. His one visible eye was only half open and he wasn't even standing up straight. This, however, did not mean he was unprepared for a fight. He certainly was, judging by the tense lines of his shoulders and his too even breath… these things, only Itachi noticed. Despite the situation, Itachi felt a sense of glee, that he knew and cared about Kakashi enough to know how to read these things about him. This couldn't mean anything other than love. Itachi couldn't imagine himself caring about anybody else enough to know how to read their body.

Fugaku spoke, in a tone that was too polite to suit the words. "Get lost, vermin. You don't know anything. Your pathetic laws don't affect me."

Kakashi took a deep breath in, and slowly let it out.

It wasn't obvious, but he was furious, because standing in front of him was the man who kept his sons in leashes for hundreds of years. This was the man who dirtied Itachi. At the thought of his beloved not-quite-vampire, Kakashi felt impure thoughts –thoughts of death and murder- rise within him, all aimed at Fugaku.

"Put your hands up in the air where I can see them."

The words that left his mouth were strictly scripted, because if he said anything else, it'd be yells and shouts of threats. He hated with a passion, hated Fugaku. A small part of him was disturbed; didn't like it that his love for Itachi could be capable of stirring up within him murderous intents. He'd never met anyone, loved anyone so strongly that he'd be willing to kill for them. And now he has. He was ready to kill Fugaku. He only waited for the words from Itachi, which made him slightly glad, because Itachi would _never_ let his father be killed, would never say the words… and Kakashi wouldn't have to be a murderer.

"Kakashi," Itachi started, his voice a soft butterknife cutting through the tension. "You know you can't take him. Let's just go."

"He's not just gonna let you walk out, is he?"

Itachi looked and met his father's glaring eyes. "He is," he said. He spoke next to his father. "You're going to leave us be, because I know where the site is. I can very well go and destroy the host, and the demon would never walk free. Stop this, father."

Panic, fury and betrayal stormed in Uchiha Fugaku's dark eyes, and Kakashi was just that little bit relieve that he hadn't started a fight with the man. "You would _never_," he hissed. "Don't you _dare_ go anywhere near him, do you understand me Itachi? You stay away from him!"

His words suddenly stopped, and Fugaku was lost inside his own head, battling for control. He'd never dealt well with panic, fear.

His fear, his fury though, was making itself known. The house became suffocating, the air thick and hot and sour. Air refused to go in and out of Kakashi's lungs, and his vision swam. The world turned stale, cracking under the power of Fugaku. A rushing sound pressed into his ears, and for the life of him, Kakashi couldn't move.

Quickly reaching his smaller hand out and taking Kakashi's larger one, Itachi tugged the other man towards the front door. "Come on, let's go. Your heroic rescue is over."

Kakashi silently, and now blindly, followed. In the hot, strangling air, Itachi's cold, smooth hand offered him salvation. He followed, because this was the hand he'd follow anywhere.

Kakashi just wished the journey from the middle of the living room to the front door didn't have to take a thousand and one years.

He was sure the pains on his face were his eyes melting off, his noise disintegrating and his brain leaking out and burning away the skin. He couldn't even scream. He could do nothing but blindly follow Itachi, and silently suffer. This was the weight of Itachi's father's wrath, and the wrathful man himself couldn't even move. How was it that Itachi could even function?

"Stop thinking about it. Focus on me, Kakashi. Do you feel my hand?"

Kakashi couldn't nod, because apparently Fugaku's wrath had also taken away his ability to work anything but his legs. Actually, he thought Itachi might have been the one controlling his legs, because he wouldn't feel anything but white hot pain. Behind them, Uchiha Fugaku crumbled to the ground, fighting with his uncontrollable wrath, and the demon howling in his head.

"How does it feel, my hand? Tell me."

And Kakashi could talk, because he had to tell Itachi, could never deny the pretty man anything. "Cold," he said through tormenting pain, but surprised that the word came out strong and smooth. He had a hope all the pain was really in his head. "Small." The door got bigger, closer, but the sunlight outside blinded Kakashi. His eyes ached, but the ache told him they hadn't melted out of their sockets. Good. "Mine."

The pain stopped at the sound of Itachi's laughter.

They were outside, but neither stopped to take in the sight, they headed straight for the car. Itachi pushed Kakashi's sluggish form in the passenger seat, seat belt and everything, and drove them off. He didn't look back, didn't tear up, and for a second Kakashi hoped that it was because Itachi didn't feel bad about leaving his father. It was a hopeless hope, because it was obvious to just about anybody that Itachi was just barely holding it in. He was in pain.

Kakashi's pains were no longer there, he was as comfortable as anyone could be in a car, but he was sluggish. His limbs were heavy from the adrenaline rush. They'd been fighting off imaginary pains.

The border of Konoha appeared, and the car slowed down. "What's wrong?" Kakashi spoke. He lazily tugged his mask down, softly breathing in the fresh air.

"The spell doesn't work outside of this border. Once we cross, it's possible you might feel differently about me." Kakashi silently took in Itachi's tight grips on the steering wheel, his eyes focused solely ahead.

"The spell makes people not notice your existences in Konoha. Once we're out, nothing should change. I'd still remember you. I went out to meet Gai already. Don't worry."

"That's not it. I just… I'm worried you might not feel the same way anymore. I don't have magic as strong as my father, but I might have had enough just to entice you without realising. You could be under my spell. I don't know."

"You said you love me," Kakashi said quietly, his voice never wavering. He didn't doubt his or Itachi's feelings, but he didn't like hearing this.

"I do. I'm just not sure you do, or if you even realise what's going on."

"Stop this nonsense! Just drive the car, Itachi."

Gritting his teeth, but still not looking at Kakashi, Itachi drove on.

The passing out of Konoha's official border felt like a wash of ice cold water to Kakashi, but in the end he was still positive that the man driving beside him was the man he loved, and that said man's father had quite the temper.

"Heh," he sighed casually. "I still love you, pretty boy."

Out of the corner of his eye, Kakashi smugly observed the quick flashes of emotions on Itachi's face. The widening of his eyes; surprise, delight, the slight intake of breath through his mouth, pure joy, and the quick tug on his lips; laughter, fondness, love. Itachi showed all this only to Kakashi, and the no longer masked man was sure he could die happy.

"Pretty boy? I'm sure I'm much too old to be called that."

Kakashi smiled, glad that he took his mask off, and stared down the road. Itachi had no idea where he was driving, just that he was, and the sky looked like it was going to rain. Soon they'd have to swap seats, because Itachi didn't have a license, and sooner or later they were going to be stopped by a police officer on patrol. It was a three and a half hour drive from Konoha to the underground tunnel leading to HQ. They would be taking breaks to eat, to use the bathroom, to eat some more because Kakashi knew Itachi had a sweet tooth. What happened after they arrived… well, they'd cross _that_ bridge when they get there.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Kakashi smiled to Itachi. This was the expression Itachi always laughed at, because while Kakashi's smile was great, his half lidded eyes weren't so much. Overall it made him look goofy.

"I'd like something more than a penny."

Kakashi blinked, his smile wavering, replaced by a fond look so deep Itachi felt his heart trying to break his ribs. He felt Kakashi's fingers reaching up, faintly tracing his dark locks. Pleasant shivers rocked through him.

"A kiss then," Kakashi said.

"Hm, I'll hold you to that. I was just thinking… I guess I want to go to university, finish it and get it out of the way."

"Why the silence then?"

"Is it too much? Am I … Am I hoping for too much?"

"No." The answer came without thought, without hesitation. He'd never realise it, but his hope was bringing hope back into Kakashi own heart. "I think it's great. You'd be able to make friends, meet people."

Itachi stared at him, at the same time driving the Car perfectly. "I want us to wear engagement rings."

"…"

"What?"

"I was daydreaming, can you please repeat that?"

"I said I want us to wear engagement rings, you especially, because I don't know what you'd do while I'm away."

The world couldn't be any brighter if it tried.

"That's what I thought you said." Kakashi looked out the window, a content look blooming on his face. His smile, this time, did not look goofy. It was the look of a man in love, a man who was about to have everything his heart desired. "Wait… what do you mean? Are you implying I'd cheat on you?"

"That's how people are these days, isn't it? It's so rare that everyone remains faithful."

The hurt stung, but Kakashi also realised that this was Itachi, Itachi who hadn't been out of Konoha in who knows how many centuries.

"I think I'm incapable of loving anyone else, Itachi. You have no idea how much of me isn't mine anymore; most of me is yours."

"Most?"

"Well, I'm keeping my pride and sense of humour, my books, and my charms and good looks. The rest of me is yours though."

The adoring smile on Itachi's face was worth everything Kakashi'd had to go through.

And just like that, it was settled. Once everything had calmed down, and they had no doubt that it would, they'd get a pair of matching rings. They'd wear it, while Itachi went to university and Kakashi continued on his assignments. When Itachi finished uni, they'd get married, just like that. Maybe. Possibly.

Slyly glancing at his soon-to-maybe-be fiancé, Kakashi asked, "Are you gonna ask me to marry you?"

"No."

"No?"

"No. We're in love with each other, and there's no way, as you've said, for you to love anyone else. That goes for me as well. Since there's no one else for us, it's reasonable we'd get married anyway."

The stunned silence that followed was… stunning. "So, I have no _choice_ but to marry you?"

"No," Itachi said, his dark eyes wide. He was afraid and shocked, and Kakashi was just glad to see that Itachi really hadn't meant to be hurtful. "I… I want you to marry me. I assumed we were. Was I right?"

Kakashi let out a long, lengthy sigh, loud and unloading.

He hoped going to university and interacting with people his own age –but not really- would bring Itachi's social awkwardness up to date. This really couldn't go on.

**…*…**

Sasuke and Itachi's reunion was so sickeningly unmoving that Naruto gagged and complained about how the brothers should show how much they were worried about each other, instead of just staring and saying witty comments. Obviously he was not yet familiar with the Uchiha ways. Later, though, when they were alone with Kakashi, Sasuke showed his brother his bare shoulder, a tiny smirk on his lips.

"How do you feel?"

"Great," Sasuke answered shortly. "I warned Tsunade she should be careful with me for a while. I'm feeling a lot of … excess energy. I could do things that could potentially be dangerous."

"Do you mean to say you're feeling happy?" Kakashi asked. "Because that could be because you now have a soon-to-be brother in law."

Sasuke froze, and Kakashi knew that was the wrong moment to bring it up.

"No, I mean that I have pent up energy. Also, I'm still immortal, I still have powers. I will kill you if you get on my nerves."

"You're still immortal. How do you know, Sasuke?"

"…"

"Sasuke, how do you know?" A slight frown marred Itachi's face.

"Narutoshotme."

"…"

"It was only a graze! Didn't even bleed that much."

When Itachi didn't respond and continued to stare a hole into the wall, Kakashi stepped in.

"Itachi, I will not get in your way if you decide to kill Naruto. Please go ahead."

Sasuke spluttered. "What? Are you crazy? Defend him! If the idiot dies his ghost's gonna haunt me for all _eternity_."

Kakashi remained silent. Sasuke glared, realising that perhaps that was the point after all.

Itachi sighed. For now he'd let the blond child go. Nothing could overcome this happy moment. "You're still immortal. Are you happy with this, Sasuke? Don't you want to age and grow old with your friend?"

"I've been aging, Itachi, constantly. Anyway, I don't want to grow old and die and leave you alone with _him_."

"I don't doubt that father would continue to harass us, but…"

"No, Itachi. I meant _him_, him." He pointed at Kakashi.

"I'm not immortal," he pointed out.

"Not yet, but Itachi's probably too fond of you to let you go. His blood is the same as father's. That's what Tsunade said."

There was a stunned silence. The awful hope that brought on all this drama in the first place bloomed across Kakashi's chest. He didn't dare cloud his mind with all this immortality crap, but the prospect of being with Itachi for all eternity was… too great to be true. He could see it. When the planet was all used up and dying, there would still be him and Itachi and Sasuke, dying together. He realised, it wasn't spending time with Itachi for eternity that would make him happy, but the prospect of being with Itachi at the very end.

He gently touched Itachi's elbow with his hand, and pulled the other man back into his chest, feeling like he's been in love for a thousand years. "Don't think about anything now," he said. "Just be happy for me. We'll get through things when they come."

"Yes," Itachi sighed, closing his eyes and just _feeling_ Kakashi behind him. "I think I'm content just doing that."

He smiled.

Kakashi smiled and hid it into Itachi's hair. "I want to spend the rest of my life making you smile just like that," he said softly.

Only one problem was solved, and they still have a dozen more to go before they could have a happily-ever-after. Uchiha Fugaku was still out and roaming, no doubt determined to bring the old demon across. Orochimaru would prove himself a problem once more, because he's already proven more than enough times that no prison could hold him. There were still other criminals that the agency has not yet brought in. The list could go on and on and on.

But for the moment, Kakashi considered himself on vacation. Just him and Itachi… and Sasuke (can't forget him, the annoying bastard.) Anything else that would come their way, they could deal.

* * *

><p>Did anybody notice? Half way through this part I started slipping. Things got messy real fast.<p>

Anyway, this work as not been beta-read and I am ashamed of that. So, review a little, yeah?


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